


How I Accidently-on-Purpose Saved the Galaxy

by KellietaGray



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alien Culture, Cannon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Fix-It, Obi-Wan Kenobi Gets a New Padawan, That's Not How Information Gathering Works, That's Not How The Force Works
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-14
Updated: 2020-09-08
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:21:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 44
Words: 135,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24720742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KellietaGray/pseuds/KellietaGray
Summary: "I once said that anyone could destroy the universe. From the smallest orphan farmer boy to the richest king.Now, I say that anyone could save it.Those are words that I believe. And I will always believe in them. Because I was no one, and I saved the Galaxy. Mostly through chance, but I will take the credit for it anyway."A girl wakes in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant with memories from a woman who has seen the Star Wars Movies. Now she wants to do everything she can to save as many lives as she can while also learning to be a Jedi and trying to keep herself alive in the middle of the clone wars. Darkness is hovering over every move, but it is perhaps not only her who can change things. After all, there are a lot of people in the universe at the moment. Who knows what might happen?
Comments: 171
Kudos: 179





	1. How One Chapter of Life Ends, and Another Begins

**Author's Note:**

> Well then. I wrote this and I love this, and I hope that in sharing it with all of your that you too will love this.  
> So please join Nemira as she stumbles through the clone wars and might just accidentally-on-purpose save the galaxy.

“So, Nichole, what have you been up to recently?” My sister asked as she leaned in the door way of the room I had claimed. It was Thanksgiving and we were at our grandmother’s house for the family gathering, but I had to work still.

Well, that might be an overstatement, but I didn’t want to do it tomorrow, so I was doing it today. Mainly to get away from the cousins and my sister. I mean, I love my sister, don’t get me wrong, but we don’t always get along. And she should have really known that I didn’t like that question. It’s always about ‘what am I doing now’, and never just a ‘hey, good to see you’.

I don’t know why it was such a sensitive question for me, but when it came from her or someone who wasn’t my mom, I couldn’t stand it. I guess it’s because it was personal, and a few months ago I might have been in a little bit of a rut. Nothing too serious, but enough for that question to just get under my skin.

“You know, a bit of this, a bit of that,” I answered evasively with a shrug as I ignored her and continued to type away on the computer in front of me. I was hoping that by some miracle she would get the hint that I didn’t want to be disturbed. Not that I held much hope, it never worked while I was in the office either. For some reason people just liked to talk to me just as my sister liked to bother me.

I had always had that effect on people. Or so it seemed. They just liked to talk to me, to say things to me. I once had a high school councilor apologize to me about being late to out appointment because she had to contact social services about a student she had met with before me. A student I had watched walk out of her office. And then she told me a few other things that I didn’t need to know.

But back to my sister bothering me, I suppose that it might have been out of revenge. After all, I was the younger sister who had done my very best to annoy her when I was little. I took great pride in being annoying and obnoxious. And it had been adorable too as I couldn’t pronounce either of those words as a child. That was the job of the youngest sibling after all.

“I hear you’re working, anything interesting?” She pressed on. This time my hands did still to a stop as I did my best not to sigh at her. So much for avoiding social interactions with the relatives.

“Not really, just a bit of data entry. It’s actually very boring but I’m being paid, so there is that.” I answered her with a shrug as I swiveled the chair to look at her. And that was all that it was for now, but I had hopes that my success now would endear me to them and make getting a job in the programming department easier.

She hummed slightly before just standing there watching me. It was rather uncomfortable as she wasn’t saying anything else and I was just sitting there like an idiot bobbing my head in awkward agreement. When that stretched longer than I was comfortable with, I turned back and poised my hands over the key board once more.

Of course, that was when she decided to speak again and said “I don’t get why you are working now when you should be over with us celebrating.” That once again had me choking back a sigh as I was swiveling in the chair to look at her head on. It was clear that so long as she was hovering over me, I would get nothing done.

“Look, I want to get this done so that I don’t have to do it later. And just what would I be doing out there? You and the older cousins don’t care to include me in anything, the younger ones have over grown the fact that I am the cool older cousin, and the aunts and uncles are always just playing pinochle. Face it; I would be sitting there doing nothing, so I might as well just do my work so that I can have a quiet day tomorrow.” I snapped back at her. It was all true. She was five years older than me and the youngest of that age group while the other cousins were eight years younger than me. I was alone at these gatherings, and I didn’t want to be bored out of my mind any more.

It wasn’t like I hadn’t done anything before this. My youngest cousin and I had been playing with a new Lego set that he had brought with him. It was a smaller Star Wars set that he had come to me to help put together, but he had gotten bored of that soon enough and had wanted to run around with the other boys. And that had left me alone with nothing to do. 

“Fine,” she rolled her eyes as she finally straitened and left the room. I was thankful to be getting back to the mind-numbing job that I was getting paid to do uninterrupted.

What I didn’t know at the time was that the argument wasn’t over. I had finished a few hours later and had been putting things away when just inside of the family room I got pounced on by her and a couple of the aunts.

First off, one didn’t even live in the state and the other I hadn’t even seen in two years, and second, I didn’t want to take their bullshit. So, I might have weathered their nagging and then stalked by them to say goodbye to my mother and grandmother before leaving as quickly as I could. Not that it did any good, I could still hear them calling after me.

It amazed me that as a child I had loved these events. I used to have fun. Then the others became teenagers or the babies came in and I was suddenly the kid corral. And that sucked on so many levels and I was just so tired of all the nagging and the drama and the attempts at guilt trips.

I was not the most successful person in the world, I was not making that much money at the moment, and I had not finished collage because the environment was wrong for me and I had no support or help while I was there. I was basically a failure and they could stop rubbing it in my face. I still volunteered my time and took measures to make sure that I was doing something meaningful, but it was hard as my only supporter seemed to be my mother.

It was no surprise that as I was trying to drive home, I was also doing my best to force myself not to let go and cry. Their words and actions shouldn’t have meant anything to me. I should have been stronger than this. I guess that really showed how much I let them get under my skin as I couldn’t do it.

Tears welled up in my eyes and I pulled over in an attempt to not get hit my something my tear blurred eyes couldn’t see. But the crying just wouldn’t stop. It was during this, on the side of the road as I was trying not to break under the pressure of my family that a very loud horn sounded. As I looked up all I saw were a pair of head lights before the sound of glass shattering and metal warping filled my ears. I wasn’t even sure what was going on before I was surrounded by darkness.

…

But then, my eyes, different eyes than I was used to, but eyes that I knew instinctively still belonged to me snapped open with a startled gasp. I was in a place that I knew, but at the same time I didn’t know. I was just Nichole, but now my name was Nemira. This all made no sense.

“Startled you were, what seen have you?” A high yet gravelly voice asked and I turned to look at the small man sitting in front of me. There were also other kids as well, all around eight I would say. But the man was the most interesting thing in the room. He was short and green and wrinkly and his ears were pointed.

I knew him both in two ways. This was Yoda, the eccentric Jedi Master who trained Luke on Deigoba and who presided over the order in the prequel movies. But the other part of me knew him as Master Yoda, my finder and the one who taught me and the other younglings the mystery of the Force. It was very confusing.

But I knew that whatever was happening, I could not let it show, so I shoved the confusion away for a moment and re-centered myself in the Force as I had been taught before this. But that was also strange as a part of me didn’t remember ever doing that before. But my mind reached out into the unknown, calling for the guiding light, and once that light answered readily, a sense of calm and lightness came over me. It was instinct, but it was also so very strange and alien, but I once again pushed that away to figure out when I was alone.

“I saw through another’s eyes. I think she was sad. But then she was hit by a speeder. I wasn’t expecting that.” I tried to explain to the small master. My brows furrowed slightly as I did so, not quite sure if that made sense and wondering why truck was replaced with speeder. This was getting very strange.

“Hm,” he hummed slightly “strong in the Unifying Force, you are. Of the present, mindful you must be.”

I nodded my head like I understood, but only half of me did. The Unifying Force was what came and connected all of us together, it was what gave us Force visions of the future, it gave us the urge to move one way or another and it was what created the Living Force that took a bit more physical approach to things as it was the part of the Force that resided in all living this and helped them to grow. Though that was still confusing as, even if there was much research on the Force, Nemira was always told that the Force works in mysterious ways. Nichole had never known that there were facets to the Force to be learned; she assumed that the Force was just the Force.

The rest of the day followed along that path as two sets of reactions raced through my mind instead of one and the memories and life that belonged to Nemira washed over and asserted themselves as more important than the memories of Nichole that began to be filled away in a place that I could still reach them should I need to. There was only room for one of the names to mean something. Otherwise I might have ended up with multiple personality disorder.

I knew where I was at that moment though, and I suppose that gave me the most comfort. I was on Coruscant and with the crèche that the jedi watched over. I was just over eight years old at the moment and still learning things that I now somewhat instinctively already knew from the assimilated memories that had only just been received. I was speaking a language that was not English but called Basic, and though my memories for a moment were more English than Basic I spoke the second as if it was the one I was born to speak.

And on that note, I also knew basic communication in four other languages that I was given to study at the temple. I was also much better versed in politics than I had ever been before. It was strange, how though there were many different political systems crammed into my learning with my new more adult perspective I could now compare and contrast them in a way that I never had before. I also knew the important customs of certain peoples and how not to disrespect them.

But more than all that, I was not Human; I was Firrerreo. We were a near human species that were just different enough to confuse medical droids and scanners if they were not programmed for us. But it also explained how my eyes seemed to see colors differently than I had ever seen as Nichole before and why when I blinked I could feel a membrane close over them as well, or even solely blink with the membranes if I didn’t want to lose sight of what I was doing.

That night as I looked into the mirror, I could see the other differences as well. Nichole had once been a very tall woman with dark brown hair and eyes along with being relatively plain. She was average besides her height. Nemira was not average, though she was only eight. Her skin had a golden hue to it as her eyes were a bright hazel to the point of almost being green or gold, and her hair was two tones a deep rich brown and a dirty blond that stood out. When the membranes of the eye came up the iris and pupil looked almost clouded. And her face so far was hinting at being beautiful. The shadow of a beautiful face was hidden under the childish look that had yet to fade. And when she smiled her canine teeth almost seemed like fangs.

This was also the Star Wars Universe. Somehow another universe had taken what had happened and made it fiction, had made it into movies that Nichole had watch once or twice. And for some reason she knew enough that the memories had been shared with someone within the universe for some reason or another. Perhaps it was as Master Yoda always would say, the Force works in mysterious ways.

Everything had changed. I was both Nichole and Nemira. Both were the same side of the coin. And yet, for all the years that Nichole had on the little Firrerreo, her personality was already being boxed up into the back. This was Nemira’s body, and she was in control. Though some traits slipped through and the knowledge gained kept, Nemira was still the one who prevailed.

I was going to live. I was going to be a Jedi and when I was, I was going to do my very best to help people and keep as many people around me alive as I possibly could. My eyes shut and I fell asleep to that, knowing that tomorrow during morning meditation I would look back on my life and move on.

I had a job to train for, and I knew that in order to do it, I had to take every advantage I had while still keeping within the ideals of the light. Perhaps one day I would be a shadow, but first I needed to do what I could to get information and learn where my place in the galaxy would be.

Just before sleep claimed me, I could feel a pulsing in the Force, it felt like joy and pride and acceptance. I was on the right track; I knew that much.


	2. How Trying to Build a Droid Leads to Becoming a Crime Lady

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, she was just trying to learn how to build a droid. That was it! But, well, Master Sinube seems to have other ideas on how to occupy her time. And this was really not what she had expected at all. Is this even how things work?   
> No, the answer is no.   
> But with the Force laughing at her, they will just have to deal with it!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep, another chapter a day after. I know that I want to post more, but I also know that I will probably start pacing them out to once a week soon. But I was excited and wanted to put another one out there!

Nemira was a young girl who had grown up in the crèche since she was three years old and Yoda negotiated her training with her parents. I had no memory of this as I was in my room when the negotiating happened, but I remember that it felt final when Yoda took me away and that I had said goodbye to my parents before taking off. I was allowed to become a Jedi so long as the traditions of my people were taught to me as well.

Because of that I had taken to being called Firrerreo in conversation. Only Master Yoda and a few other Masters knew my name. But it was mine to give out as I saw fit to those whom I felt were family or had gained the utmost trust from me. Even as I ignored part of the Jedi code to make room for those people. My people view using someone’s name as having power over them. So it was socially acceptable for someone to just call us Firrerreo. We answered to it readily.

Yoda was like a grandfather to me in many ways. While I knew not to hold attachment and so I never truly named it as such and the connection was never there, he was my male role model. And so, I was happy that he knew my name.

But that had nothing to do with the here and now. Right then I was going to the library to snoop around and maybe learn how to slice or make a droid. Slicing is what Nichole would have called hacking, and I thought that learning to build a real droid might be helpful with how mechanical and technology based all of this universe was. Though I admit it had not been something I was interested until recently. Now, for some reason, that fascinated me.

I think it was because with the new perspective of Nichole, all of it was just so very new and not what used to be in the realm of her possibility. So, I might have snuck out of my math class to go to the library. It wasn’t like I needed it; I knew more math than I needed to know for the moment. In a year that might change, but until then it wasn’t as if I was missing anything. Who even like geometry? 

I also got the impression that the Force was laughing at me in its own way. For something that just was, I often wondered why it was so opinionated about everything. Not that it was any of my business, and to be completely honest I was pretty sure the answer to that would blow my mind, literally. Jedi were to follow the will of the Force, but that ‘will’ was often debated upon.

I had just grabbed a holovid on making my own droid, I was very much a visual learner thank you, when a rhythmic tapping had me pausing said vid and turning to see what it was. An older Jedi, Cosian in species I would guess as to the best of my describing skills he looked like a bipedal mix of a horse and turtle, was walking over to me with his walking stick being the thing that was making the tapping noise. I tilted my head in curiosity as it seemed I was the only one he seemed to be focused on.

“Can I help you, Master?” I asked with a respectful nod to my head. I knew that he knew that I knew that I was caught. But I could also simply feel the amusement that he felt at that. No doubt he saw a lot of younglings skipping class for various frivolous reasons.

“What do you have here, youngling?” He asked as he came to stand at my side. There was only curiosity in his voice, no accusations or reprimands, not even a hint of lecturing in his tone.

Blushing slightly, I turned to the vid and had it start again. “I’m learning to make a droid. I felt that the particulars are something that would be good for me to know.” I explained truthfully.

He hummed slightly, “It is good to see that though you skip lessons you still reach to learn new things. But how would you like to come with me youngling and learn something even more practical than this?” He offered with a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

A part of me wanted to stay and learn how to build a droid, but the holovid was not going anywhere. This was an opportunity to learn from the experienced jedi master and it was really a once in a life time opportunity. Chances like this didn’t come to younglings every day. If they came to them at all. So, I flashed him a smile that held a hint of fang and said “I would love to learn from you, Master Jedi.”

With a chuckle and a skip in his step, the old Cosian lead me towards the place where they kept the cloaks and some other clothing items that the Jedi were permitted to use out in the field. They just had to come back. It was then that there was a quick flash of anticipation and excitement that rushed through me. I was getting the feeling that he was about to take me outside of the temple. That was something that didn’t happen all that often to younglings as well.

Hemming and hawing for a moment the old Jedi handed me a bundle of clothes and told me to change and put my current clothes in one of the lockers. I did so, slightly surprised at what was picked out for me. He was putting me in a rather forgettable yet sophisticated garb. A pair of hide leggings and sturdy boots, a tunic that tucked into it covered mostly by a vest that was made of synthetic hide and would offer protection while looking good, gloves to hide my hands, a cloak to hide my head, and a voice synthesizer that would cover the bottom half of my face as well. I looked awesome, and somewhat like a small adult of some kind. No one would think I was a youngling.

It was also all in grays and whites with the mouth piece being made of copper looking metal and a black furry spine on the back of the cloak. I actually thought I looked a lot like a nexu, my favorite animal. It was something like a white tiger but with four eyes, a Cheshire smile, black spikes down its back, and a tail that split into two near the end. I quite liked it all things considered.

I was also given a dud blaster and a holster to make it look as if I was armed for some reason. I didn’t ask why, but I did accept it as something that I would apparently need. Masters of the Order didn’t normally do something without reason. I also wasn’t about to ask why until my learning experience was over. I didn’t want to have it finished early because I wanted answers that I didn’t need yet.

He looked me over when I came out and gave a satisfied huff before he started to move on with me at his heels. “Today, young one, you will be learning of the lower levels of Coruscant. I am the expert on crime related to this planet, and I want to go out and see how simple it is to learn more and make contacts. Who knows, the Force seemed to think you would only help in this. Keep your eyes opened and be sure to learn what you can.” He said as he hobbled.

My eyes went wide as I quickly followed him with a smile twitching at my covered lips. This was kind of amazing. A Jedi Master was taking me into the seedy underbelly of crime and corruption on the city planet. And he was calling it a learning experience. I could also feel the Force agreeing with him as it was still somehow laughing at me.

I followed as he slowly made our way down to the level where the sun could not shine. Said sun that was just dipping down below the buildings anyway. We ended up in a bar, him waving me in before coming in himself a few minutes later. I didn’t know what to do at first as I walked in and took a look around.

The bar was actually charming in its own way. It was lighted up in a rusty red color with shiny metal furniture that was dented and lived in. The counter was a very thick slab of metal that appeared to be two inches thick and it looked as if it had survived many fights. There were blaster burns already cleaned up but still visible, dents made by what I didn’t know, and wear on where it was used the most. There were three wooden tables that must have been imported in at some point in the far right corner that were surrounded as the people around it played a card game that was similar to poker but I knew was called sabacc.

I paused to listen to the Force before I went over to the bar and took a seat while still eyeing the card game. Soon, I would join in, but not yet. Somehow I knew that if I just joined it would be suspicious. So I ordered a drink, listening as the voice synthesizer made my voice still feminine but with a deep growl behind it. It was intimidating, and I quite liked it. It would enhance the growls that my people could already make into something much more intimidating.

The drink that I got was rather tame. And I didn’t drink it. I emptied it slowly into the synthetic plant next to me at a slow rate when no one was looking. I didn’t know how to drink it around the synth and I didn’t want to test my untested alcohol tolerance. That would be bad. I just sat and I listened and every once in a while the Master Jedi would look over to me with laughter in his eyes and give me a nod to show that I was doing just fine.

Then, with the drink mostly done I hopped off the seat and went to the table that was just finished and setting up a new game. Something told me that it was time for me to join in. “I’ll join, if no one minds.” I said simply, everything about my body language telling that I didn’t care for their answer and would join in anyway.

In a moment the cards were dealt and I listened to the Force as it told me what to do. I honestly didn’t know anything about the game and was flying by the seat of my pants. But the first three hands went to me before I was given a hand that the Force rejected and I folded early on. Then I played some more. I lost just enough for them to see that I was an honest player. It helped that I had that stack of credits to win and lose. I had been given them before we had even reached the lower levels.

That was about when the gossip started to flow. Drink and gambling seemed to loosen tongues. Banter and good hearted ribbing ensued not long after, with my own changed voice commenting sarcastically every once in a while. They seemed to like that, and it gained me more allowance with them.

Then in what I knew would be my final game a woman joined the tale. She was familiar to me in a way, and it took me a while to understand why. She was a Clawdite. They were a shape shifting species that could change everything but mass. But more importantly, she was the bounty hunter that Jango Fett killed after she failed to kill Padme Amidala. Something in me told me that this was an opportunity.

As the hands were shown and I collected my winnings, I turned towards her and said calmly, “Come, share a drink with me.” It should have been a question really, but I somehow managed to say it as if it was an invitation that needed to be accepted.

She looked at me for a moment, her mouth covered by cloth and in her root form. Then she nodded and we made our way over to the bar area. I took the time to take out a pen I had taken from storage and started to doodle on the rare un-dirtied napkin that was a bit more high class than this little place warranted. It was strange, but I was doing it to mask my nerves as I noticed the Jedi Master with me was taking the time to chat with a few of the older patrons still.

“What is it you wished to say to me?” The woman asked with a hard look at me. It was clear that she didn’t want any uncertainty or beating around the bush.

I hummed slightly, organizing my thoughts. “In a few years you will get an offer from Jango Fett to assassinate one Senator Amidala of Naboo. If you take the job, it will end with your life as payment. She will be far more protected than you think and the Mandalorian bounty hunter will end you as a loose end needing to be tied.” I said in a slightly detached voice.

The bounty hunter paused, veering back slightly in surprise. “And how could you possibly know of that?” She demanded softly, making sure that our conversation was not gaining the attention of the other patrons.

“The Jedi do not have a monopoly on seeing what the future holds. I knew to tell you this just after playing a hand of sabacc with you. The true question is if you believe me or not.” I answered deliberately as I thought out the words and made sure that I was not saying any lies. Lying would only complicate things for me. I was not telling it straight, but at the same time I was not outright telling lies.

“And what else have you seen?” She asked with tense shoulders.

I wondered for a moment on what to tell her as I made one last mark with the pen and looked up at her. With my eyes still overshadowed by my hood I knew that she would only see shadow and copper, and I hoped that it gave a mysterious impression. I also saw no real reason to lie to her about what the future held.

“There will be war. In a few years, not long after the failed assassination attempt actually. The Republic Credit will drop in value for those who work outside the law and spice will be more valuable to the underworld. It will be a costly war, a pointless war in the end if nothing is changed. If left unchecked, it will destroy the Republic to make way for a vicious Empire. And perhaps things can be made different, or perhaps not. My only goal is to make sure I am not a casualty in this future.” I said dramatically. I had deepened my voice a bit more and added a little bit more growl to it. And I felt completely ridiculous.

But that seemed to mean something to the Clawdite. Her skin had gone gray and her breathing hitched slightly. I pushed the napkin over to her as I stood from the bar. It was a nice sketch of a nexu that had been in my mind since I had changed into this getup. It had an emphasis on the silhouette, needle like teeth, and the split tail as it crouched. She seemed to pick it up before her hand came out and grasped my wrist.

“Wait! Take this,” she said as she shoved what looked to be an incredibly encrypted comm into my hand. “I will call you, My Lady, if I have any news I think you must hear.”

Shock rippled through me, but I didn’t let it show as I swallowed the sputtering I almost let out and tried to regally nod my head at her and then continue to walk away. Once outside it was not long before the Jedi Master that brought me caught up and placed a hand on my shoulder.

“Have you learned much from this experience?” He asked with a light to his voice and eyes. I knew that he had been watching me the entire time.

“Probably not what you meant for me to learn.” I found myself answering with a deep blush crawling up my cheeks in embarrassment. “But, that woman; the bounty hunter, she called me my lady, and gave me this. Why did she do that?” I asked as I showed him the comm.

“Ah, very good. It seems you have begun your own informant network. Or perhaps a new web of information gathering will be created around you. I’m afraid she might have mistaken you as an up and coming crime lord. Perhaps in time this will be of benefit for you and the Order.” He said as he nodded his head.

“What?” I asked weakly. I honestly didn’t think that I was going to be making an informant network at age eight, nor had I thought that I would become some sort of crime lady.

The Cosian huffed a laugh before saying “Of course I will have to bring you back down here every once in a while, to see how well you can continue to build your new budding network. It should all be very interesting.”

I held in my groan as well as the growl that would be very rude to sound. Things just got a whole lot more complicated. But this might be a good thing. Maybe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think! I did a stupid amount of research on alien peoples to decide what I wanted Nemira to be. Because there are so many humans out there, and I really thought that it would be fun to try my hand at something else.   
> Please let me know how I did! I would love to know what you all thought about it!


	3. How I Criminally Take a Stand Against Slavery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Education is important. Especially as it rolls and expands to useful things. Nemira is growing, and so is everything else. 
> 
> Also, Obi-Wan happened to be temple bound at just the right moment. Let's see how that turned out for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this is mostly first person, but I wanted to sprinkle in a few separate points of view. So I added the Interlude. This time it is Obi-Wan.

I learned a few weeks later that the Cosian Jedi Master was called Hera Sinube. It was also around that time that I also gave him my own name. He was my mentor and the only one who seemed to know about my growing network of criminal activity. And just saying that seemed to wrong on so many levels. Though, he did say that the council knew about his mentoring of me, what ever that was worth. 

Somehow the one bounty hunter that I had given advice to had rallied others in the underbelly to following my every word. I don’t know how it happened, or even why it happened. But they were starting to try and get me to accept money off of them. For my blessings on certain things, they were trying to give me a cut so that information I give them and receive from them was verified as true.

They were also starting to hoard spice and other tradable commodities. Though, credits were still perfectly fine for now, and we were hording that stuff as well where needed. What was even stranger was that my doodle of a nexu had been placed as a kind of sigil on everything that they now claimed was mine. I wasn’t even sure what I was doing half the time, but it seemed as if I didn’t have to know. I just made an appearance twice a month and as if the Force willed this to happen everything was falling into place.

The bounty hunter had even created a bank account for me and had given me the codes and passwords for it. It was filling up rapidly at an alarming rate. I had more money than most seemed to make in a year, and by the looks of it the people giving me this wealth were also doing very good for themselves. This was not how I thought any underground network would work.

They even began to call me Lady Nexu. I’m not even joking. A few people would petition me, we would share information over a card game where they won just enough to be considered a payment and then they would claim their loyalty to me. It was a pattern that happened more than once and only when the Force seemed to will it to as I never cheated at the card games or even tried to sway them in any way. Well, to that point I should also maybe point out that I never actually learned the rules of the game. I just followed along with what everyone else was doing and hoped for the best! 

There was one time when a man tried to do that but his intentions were not as pure as the others. The force made sure that I had wiped him out of credits before he tried to kill me and was in turn killed by no less than half a dozen blaster bolts coming from those who felt I was their Lady. It was completely ridiculous. That was when I learned that they thought I rigged the games with my precognitive abilities so that I could pay whomever I thought I should. It was strange.

It also took me a week of counseling with Master Sinube to get over the first sight of death that I was given. I was eight years old and for a death it was both quick and violent. It could even be said that I was the cause of his death. In the end I worked through it and now I knew how to avoid that, or let it happen as it would. These people were protective of me and they really did seem to care for me as well.

Somehow it was all working out alright. It probably helped that I had been learning to open myself to the Force for smaller visions that really had no consequence. I was strong in seeing things that the Force wanted me to share, and now I was looking for things that needed to be shared. I’m not even sure how it happens or why, but they were important to the people who were looking for me. It was why they came to me.

I guess it might have also said something about me that I was starting to think of them as my people. As if I really did have a responsibility to them even though I didn’t think that I had ever done anything to earn their loyalty but say a few ‘might have been’s.

I was nearly nine when something in my… kingdom, empire, domain… my informant network happened that was against everything that I believed in. The night had started out like any other. I came into the bar of the night and a few of my people started to show up just in time for me to begin the sabacc game.

The game was going well, and then I noticed that I was cleaning out one who was mine. Something had happened. Something had happened that I would not like. In the middle of the game, knowing that it was only my people who were around me, I stood and looked at him square on as I demanded with a deeper growl than usual “What have you done?”

The man squeaked and started to shake. It was rather impressive seeing as I was not all that tall yet. But I could feel his fear radiating in the force as well as see it in his eyes. “Please,” he started to say in panic “I only did what I thought would give me profit. A new commodity, that is all!”

“And what is this commodity?” I demanded with more of a hiss than a growl. The others had backed up by now and I could tell they were keeping those not in my circle away and making sure that they wouldn’t interfere. This was the first time I was the one to seem to start the reprimanding. This was also the most aggressive I had ever been.

“Slaves, I thought slaves would bring in more revenue, please, I’m sorry.” He stuttered out in a panic. And suddenly all I could feel was disgust. It wasn’t even anger, I was hard to anger, but I was disgusted that he simply thought it was alright to take the freedoms of others.

I took steps so that I was around the table and standing over his chair. As he was still seated, he was shorter than me and so I could look down on him. “I do not deal in slaves! I do not take the freedoms of others!” I said with more hiss than growl, a warning and a threat.

“What do I do, what can I do to please you, mistress?” He begged. I almost flinched at his address of me, but I kept that hidden.

I pitied him. He was terrified, and I had never given my people reason to be afraid of me. My manner had always been approachable and kind. I had never raised my voice or even demanded things of them. And yet one reprimand and a demand to know what he had done and he was terrified of me.

I sighed and placed a hand on his head. The tenseness of my shoulders relaxed and my kind air came back. "You will free them. You will free them and then take measures to free the ones from the one who supplied you. Offer them education, and then some form of work, but do not force it. Redeem yourself in their eyes and you will be forgiven in mine." I said to him gently but sternly.

"Yes, I will. I promise you, My Lady." He babbled as he slumped in relief. And I knew that he would. For some reason he craved my approval.

So I took my gloved hand and I stroked it once down his cheek before using it to lift his chin so that he was looking at me. Then I said just above a whisper, "Then go, so that you may come back."

"Yes. Thank you, milady, thank you." He choked out reverently before scrambling to go and do as I said. He was gone within seconds, the wall of my people opening up to let him through. The door even swished closed behind him.

I then sat back down and we played a couple more rounds. There was approval in the eyes of the others under me. I had both reprimanded and redeemed. I had not been cruel, but I had made a line in the sand that I would not cross and that my people would not cross.

It would be a month later that I was watching the streaming news that I would learn if three slave rings being taken out from the inside. Slaves freed and the ring leaders arrested. And it was attributed to some sort of underground crime war. A banner with the Nexu symbol I had been using was left at each scene. I was shocked at first, but I let it go. It would not do to make a big deal of this. Not when I needed focus.

My training at the temple was coming along well. I was good at the basics of the first three forms of lightsaber dulling, but I had one flaw that they were trying to help me with as things were getting dicey. I never went on the attack. I could, probably, but it was hard for me. I lacked the inclination to attack and preferred to parry instead.

It made fighting a lesson in endurance for both sides. Good thing was that I was learning a great deal of endurance and speed. I was also pretty good at deflecting bolts from hitting me. I liked that ability. It was fun. The form that seemed to be calling me was Soresu. I guess that it was something I would have to keep going at.

My diplomacy skills were not horrible either. After somehow amassing an underworld following without so much as learning any names or giving my own out, I could negotiate fairly impressively. Apparently, my compassion and truth seeking did me credit. As did my low tolerance for bantha shit. Those were things that I think only got stronger with Nichole being added to me.

The crèche was also a very welcoming environment most of the time. The other younglings never treated me any differently and we were all prone to goofing off when left to our own devices. Mateo was one of my friends. I don't think that he would become a Jedi Knight. His right foot was lame and often he had troubles walking. He could go into the agricorps when the time came. And he was happy to do so as well.

Risa was another of my year. She was shy and good with healing. She would probably apprentice under a master and then work in the halls of healing if she was lucky. I think she wanted that as she hated violence most of the time. She could fight, but it conflicted with her personality.

I was growing and I was happy. But I was still having trouble getting the time to learn how to build a droid. I hadn't the time though I probably did have the resources if I wanted them.

###  Interlude: How Obi-Wan Kenobi Took Interest

Obi-Wan Kenobi was proud to say that he had seen Anakin come into himself and become a formidable Jedi Knight. At the moment however, he was back in the Archives hoping to find something. He wasn’t even sure what to look for, only that there was something here that he needed to find or know. The Force was muddled, but in this it seemed clear.

“If there is nothing else, I will leave you to browse.” Jedi Master Jocosta Nu said. And he tried to smile at her in an attempt to keep things polite. Honestly, one would think that she wouldn’t be so prickly with him after he had simply proven her wrong.

It wasn’t his fault that someone had deleted Kamino from the archives, in fact, she should be happy that he had found the breach and had fixed it. But some people were too set in their way. It was only to be expected he supposed, and at last she was going to leave him be to do whatever it was that he had to do.

With a sigh he began to flip through sections, looking for something that would be helpful in finding out just what he was meant to find. And if that didn’t sound convoluted, he knew that he would be taking a break to meditate soon enough so that he could make sense of everything that had been going on as of late. Things had been going by quickly, missions blending together and now this war.

He was distracted as the door opened and a girl, a youngling he would say, walked in and seemed to make a beeline for one of the consoles already on. It was most interesting because he was sure that it was diplomacy class at the moment. This was not the first time that he had seen a youngling skip class, but it was perhaps the first time he had seen one skip just to end up in the archives.

“Can I help you?” He asked as he walked forward. She was an interesting youngling. Her bicolored hair and golden tinged skin called to her heritage being Firrerreo. That was interesting. It would also probably serve her well in the war, if she were to be pushed into it. Firrerreo had very impressive healing rates. 

The girl seemed to stiffen and then sigh, her shoulders and arms going limp. “I’m trying to learn to build a droid. Just some engineering, but every time I try it seems that the Force has other ideas.” She said in a voice that might have had a bit of a growl to the undertone, making the words seem somewhat adorable.

“Oh, and what happened last time you were looking this up?” He found himself asking with a smirk coming to his face. Though, it was mostly hidden by his beard.

“First time one of the older Masters took me on as a student for a time to teach me about the underworld crime syndicates and information networking. The second time I remembered to look it up I was interrupted by one of my friends who decided it was a good idea to break his arm, and now you’re probably going to have me going back to class.” She answered with a small self-deprecating smile of her own.

“Ah, not to worry, I won’t stop you. Just know that diplomacy is an important skill to learn.” He replied with a chuckle.

“Of course. I consider myself pretty good at it. I have good enough marks that I figured that I could stay on top of it even if I skipped a class.” She nodded along with a large smile before getting set up with the holovid she had picked out.

With one last chuckle he turned and left. It was much, much later that Obi-Wan figured out that he perhaps did find just what he was looking for without realizing it.

In fact, it was probably a couple months later right after the conclusion of his Christophsus battle that it truly dawned on him. He was reporting to the council and thinking about the fact that Anakin really was getting along well with his new padawan. It was then that Master Yoda asked if he himself was interested in gaining one as well. It was him, after all, who had requested a padawan. The council had just decided to change it to giving Anakin one instead.

He was about to refuse thinking that this was probably the will of the Force when the encounter came back into his mind. Only when his pause was too long did he shake himself out of it and ask “There was a Firrerreo girl around padawan age, does she have a master?”

“Hmm, the Firrerreo girl does not. In the past, learned from Master Sinube, she has. If no master is found, stay on in the temple she will. Offering to take her, are you?” The small green master asked with what could be amusement in his voice.

“Perhaps. If you think she is ready for it.” Obi-Wan allows with a sophisticated shrug. It caused Yoda to cackle for a moment in surprised glee. Apparently, he had expected more of a fight or even a clear no.

It was Master Plo Koon who decided to speak up next. A good portion of the council was on call at the moment even as Master Yoda was standing next to him. “And how have you met the Firrerreo? I understand that you haven’t been in the temple or around the initiates for very long recently.” He asked curiously as the others were deciding if they were fine with the placement of the girl.

“During my leave right after the war started I as in the temple when the Force led me to the archives just as she was in them. That’s the extent of it. But the Force does work in mysterious ways, at the very least it should prove interesting.” Obi-Wan answered as he stroked his beard thoughtfully. The council paused to look between themselves.

“Hm, decided we are. Send her to you we will.” Yoda announced with another cackle. And then right before he was going to sign off the diminutive master added “Interesting this will be. Your last padawan was reckless, aggressive in style, this one lacks aggression she does, and her skills are best against one who is better. Connected she is to the Force differently and similarly to you, also. Learn, you must, to work with this. May the Force be with you.”

“And also with you,” he found himself almost sighing as the transmission ended. That last remark had a hint of forebodence in it. But he supposed that he would see what that was all about when the time came.

Though, how he was going to inform both Anakin and Cody of this new development he was unsure. Of course, the good commander could always get tips on how to deal with small female commanders from Captain Rex. By the time his new padawan came there was no doubt that Anakin and his own would have already gotten into any number of interesting situations.

It was probably official; this was going to grey his hair faster than expected. Why oh why had he spoken up about gaining another padawan?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there we have it! We are now almost to really juicy plot points. And by that I meant that she is soon to be out of the temple.   
> Please let me know what you all thought about it!


	4. How to Fast Track Becoming a Commander

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the Clone Wars, where twelve year olds can become commanders in an army millions strong in number.  
> Well, Nemira is certainly going to make an impression, so there is that. And meet her new master, and that might be the most important thing at the moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gosh, if I was a padawan that was thrust into this position, I have no idea what I would do, but I would probably have a nicely blank face as I freaked out on the inside. I actually loved the one episode in the Clone Wars where Ahsoka failed to start with as she was given her own squadron to lead because that was realistic to what a young teenager would struggle with.  
> The good news is that Nemira won't be in the position for a while yet.

I was twelve almost nearing thirteen when the war started. What I said had come to pass to the bounty hunter, and her loyalty to me was somehow stronger than ever. That meant that she didn't take the job, but it was still an advertised job. The poor girl who did accept it had been killed just as I said she would have been. Other predictions that I had made also seemed to come true and my crime ladyship seemed to grow with my success.

I was almost done with what I could learn in the temple without becoming a padawan as well. It was strange that while recovering from Geonosis I had met Obi-Wan Kenobi and because of him I had finally been able to learn how to construct a droid. It was surprisingly not difficult, just as it was also really complicated. It was the coding that was the hard part, but with any number of places already selling budding AI’s, it was easiest to buy one and then make changes to the parameters. Perhaps I should really just call it meticulous as you had to do a lot of repetition in the building of one and making sure that it all functioned correctly.

Not that I had bothered much with that yet. I would when I needed one, but at the moment I didn’t need a droid. And I also had no place to put one. I did donate one to the crèche so that the really little ones had a sort of playmate. Master Yoda was amused by that I think. It was like mix of a training droid and a medical one. I liked it, and I called it FX-1T for many reasons. Most of the little ones called it Tee. I made it during the vid so that I knew what I was doing and to prove to myself that yes, it really was that simple.

I was now working on building the cell phones or tablets that Nichole had loved so in the world she had lived. The concepts were not difficult, in fact they were easy, but for some reason this place had such different thoughts on communication. There were the holocasters, that were close to in person meetings and also comm systems that were good for groups, but it was nothing like a cell phone.

Actually, the other thing that they didn’t have were texting capabilities. Or even email. You could write a report and log it into a system, there were even some online forums. You could set up a data pad to flow with a chat group too, and there were ways of looking things up on the net, but they were overly complicated and not very practical at all. But no way to completely privately send a text-based message from one person to another without a lot of extra steps. It was weird.

And they didn’t have video games. Maybe it was because there were so many other things to do with life and most who had the time either played outside or did some other activity. Mostly children just learned everything that they could. Heck, there was hardly anything like a simple phone call with just voices away from comms that you had to pair up either. They were more like walky-talkies. Sync up the devices and then use them. You couldn’t just use it to contact anyone as I was used to.

Let's also not even mention social media. I mean, there were a few blogs and I even found a site for writers to exchange ideas and the like, but nothing like Facebook or even MySpace. I couldn't even find anything that remotely resembled YouTube or Instagram. There were holodramas that were akin to movies or TV shows, but nothing for the amateur cinematographers or people who just wanted to share funny vids.

It was maddening, and I was going to change that as soon as possible. I had never been one to code anything, but I felt that this was important. So important that with a few words I somehow had a network started via long range satellites. I had my own signal towers for my phones to work. Like in the span of two weeks it suddenly came up and I was going to be sharing the equivalent of smart phones with those in my inner circle. Maybe more later on too.

I was eleven when I made my first phone to work on this, and a few months later I had enough so that I could give one to my bounty hunter (I should probably really learn her name) and another to Master Sinube. It came with fully functioning text capabilities as well as emails and hailing. I even made it so that in a pinch it can work to connect to another comm link, but they weren’t very compatible and it usually fried one or the other.

My phone was labeled Nexu One, Master Sinube’s was Achieve, and my bounty hunter had the Shifter. I was glad that though I was getting a rising following, somehow my person was shrouded in mystery so that no one who was looking for me knew just where to look. Besides the bars I frequented.

Heck, a Cor-Sec officer had already tried to infiltrate my circle. That had been a very interesting night. What was becoming my usual court at this particular location had played sabacc with me in amusement as I stripped him of his creds while the other players also gained a bit of money. He had been none the wiser as somehow word had gone out that he was an outsider.

The entire establishment was having fun with him. The bar tender who had a soft spot for me somehow seemed to be giving him substandard drinks. My people were swindling him out of his money. A few bystanders were whispering false things just within hearing range. He left with a head full of lies, empty pockets, and a bad aftertaste in his mouth. I felt a little bit bad about it, but we hadn't hurt him so it was probably alright.

So, things were going well. I was happy with how this was turning out. And there was something (probably the Force) telling me that things were about to start picking up soon. I believed it.

I was just filling out some of my coursework when I found out just what would be changing. Master Windu was the one baring this news it would seem. It was strange as though he was a great Master and all younglings were taught to respect him, he was an intimidating individual who didn’t always associate with us. Master Yoda was often the one to come and speak with us.

“Senior Initiate, I have some news of your future for you.” He said as I looked up from my work. Sensing the importance of his words I quickly set aside my work and stood as I looked up at him.

“Yes Master?” I asked him politely. If this was about my future I wondered if I was being transferred to elsewhere or perhaps if a Jedi had decided to take me on as a padawan. Either would be interesting.

“A Jedi has spoken and is interested in being your master. Meet at the landing zone in two hours. You will need to bring everything as you will not be back here in some time.” The severe man said bluntly. Though, I noticed that he gave no names or specifics.

I bowed slightly and answered “I am honored.” Then I went to grab my pack. I packed both a change of my regular clothes and my Lady Nexu disguise. I flung a text off to both my bounty hunter and Master Sinube, both with varying amounts of information. Just to let them know I was going off planet.

My usual outfit was a simple combination of light blue synthetic leather leggings and dark brown boots with a tan shirt that resembled a kimono and had hint of traditional Jedi wear in it. I was not a fan of the traditional robes, but I could not be confused for anything but a Jedi. Especially with my lightsaber hanging from the brown belt around my waist that matched my boots. Not to mention the place where I knew my padawan braid was going to rest. I guess that my hair would need to be cut soon as it was actually pretty long.

My appearance and choice of outfit was also conservative compared to a lot of the younger ones in the Order, but I was never really one to show much skin. And the sleeves were nice and long, long enough that I was able to hide things in them. I made a specialty pocket for my phone so that I could take it everywhere with me. I was glad that the crystal panes were much more crack resistant than the glass that Nichole had on her phones.

I rushed out to the shuttle then. Master Windu didn't really say anything more as he pointed out said ship and had me go over there to meet my new Master with only a few words wishing me luck and the usual 'may the Force be with you' that everyone always said. Said shuttle was fairly bare with the exception of two clones that were to pilot me there. They had the orange stripes of the 212th with a look about them that seemed to speak of experience.

“I am in your care,” I said with a slight bow to them. But when I went to introduce themselves, I raised a hand and said “Wait, just a moment. Please, perhaps only tell me your rank at the moment. I am of the Firrerreo, and we do not give our names out lightly. I would be honored to receive permission to use your names when you feel I have earned that right. As it is, it is not uncommon for my people to simply be referred to as our species instead of by name. I hope that, as I get to know the men I will be assigned with, I will feel more comfortable with giving my name.” I tried to explain.

“Yes, sir.” They said, though they sounded a bit confused.

I sat as they went through take off procedures. “You have questions?” I prompted.

The two looked at each other for a moment, seeming to communicate through the use of head wiggles and shrugging. Then the one not piloting asked “Don’t the traditions of the Jedi override the traditions of your species Commander?”

“Fair question,” I nodded. “My people are very protective of their ways. My integration into the Order was only allowed on the account that our traditions were still taught and enforced within me. It is encouraged to keep up with social trends and diplomacy that our original cultures have had keep them preserved within us. I understand that the Padawan your sister legion the 501st has taken on wears the ahnul teeth to symbolize her maturity to her people the Togruta. It is the same concept.”

And yes, I knew that for a fact because everyone knew about the 212th and the 501st. They were the battalions that fought beside The Negotiator Master Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi and the Hero with No Fear Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker. From the civilians in the lower levels to the senators in the upper floors everyone knew about them. The fact that they were escorting me could mean anything, but it could also mean that I could become Master Kenobi's padawan. Though, I was also doing my best not to get my hopes up just in case that was not what was happening.

During the flight I learned that the two I was with were sent specifically to grab me and that they were a part of the Ghost Company. They also grabbed a few medical supplies and a bit of tea to sweeten up the General as they were sure he had run out of it a while ago. I laughed along with them and was surprised to note how very different the two were, not only in personality but also in the Force.

It was wonderful that they were like this. I wondered then, if they seemed so real and individual, why they decided to turn against the Jedi. Nichole was a Star Wars fan, but she had only ever watched the third movie once, it was her least favorite. I couldn’t pull up the memories of why they would do that. Especially since The Republic was turned to The Empire.

I guess that was a mystery I would have to figure out on my own. It probably would have helped had I known what happened during Clone Wars as well. But I supposed that I would just have to wing it. It was close to our arrival time anyway and the two had agreed to forward my traditions on names so that no one would be stepping on any toes as soon as we got there.

But then I felt something twist and whisper around me. It was just a feeling, but I had been so in tune with my feelings considering how I had been relying on them that I knew that it was important. “Um, we are going to be coming in hot.” I suddenly interrupted the banter in front of me nervously.

“What do you mean?” The one in the pilot seat asked uneasily as he gripped the steering rig tighter.

“I mean that my Jedi senses tell me we are about to come in hot. There will be something bad going on. Now, where do I get the guns prepped?” I answered as lightly as I could while getting up and bringing down the targeting systems.

This was not a ship designed for fighting, but all shuttles had some weapons for safety’s sake. It wouldn’t do to get killed without a fight or get captured by pirates. And my senses really were just about screaming at me at this point.

“Just like that, Commander. And we are coming out of hyperspace now.” He answered nervously as he started to sequence us into flying at normal speeds. I didn’t answer as I closed my eyes and swiveled the gun around.

The moment that we were in safe speeds to fire, I let go two shots, and that was followed by a blast of sound as a vulture droid was destroyed. The two troopers with me began to shout out communication to the mother ship as I ignored them and turned the gun to let out a few more shots. At the very least this would lay out the cover fire for our escort to get us to the ship.

“I don’t usually like to make an entrance, but you have to admit I most certainly am making some sort of first impression.” I found the quip escaping me as adrenaline rushed through me. Still, I aimed and fired the cannons to ward off the separatist dogfighters.

One of the cones laughed as he said “You will at some point get used to the excitement, Commander, but until then you might want to stick to the guns. Your aim is better than I thought it would be.”

I made a mock outraged sound and I replied “Did you think I would be a bad shot? I’ll have you know this is the first time I’ve ever actually used the defenses on a ship. For my first time I’m doing perfectly thank you!”

That caused a bit of laughter and a contemplative look from the pilot. “Not bad for a shiny,” I heard him mutter as he swerved to avoid the debris from something I had just shot to pieces. I responded that with a short laugh. I figured that shiny must be some form of slang for rookie.

It took less than a minute after that to be safely in the hanger with the Separatist fleet running. The moment that I stepped away from the cannons I ended up tripping over my feet and ending up flat on my face. “Ah, there goes my balance,” I grumbled. But I hopped back up ignoring the low chuckles of the two who I had been sharing this ship with.

“Ah, I don’t know about my partner here, but with shooting like that, you might make a decent Commander yet. I’m Waxer.” The one who had been piloting said.

I let out a surprised laugh as the ramp lowered and we began to exit the ship. “It is my honor, Waxer. I look forward to fighting alongside you.” I found myself saying carefully. And it was an honor to be gifted a name to use. The other clone didn’t say a word, but that was fine. I wasn’t expecting him to. Trust took time to earn.

“Ah and here must be my new padawan learner.” A voice said as I cleared the ramp and found myself standing on the metal surface of the main hanger. The voice belonged to a man who was average in height with auburn hair and a thick but neat beard. He wore light colors including some light armor pieces. But most of all he was recognizable. Never had I ever thought that he would choose me as a padawan.

“And you must be the Master who agreed to take me on.” I said as lightly as I could while giving him a grateful bow. I was still amazed that Obi-Wan Kenobi had volunteered to be my Master. The man survived so much, had seen and would see so much. That I would learn from him. I was awed, though I made sure not to show it.

“Commander, my new padawan, Padawan, my Cammander. I’m afraid that I haven’t a clue her name at the moment, but that is not uncommon for the Firrerreo people. Usually only their most trusted friends and family are the only ones to know their names. As such, your sharing of your name should only happen if you are sure you want her to know it. It will not be taken as a slight if you never share your name, nor should it be considered one if she doesn’t want to share either.” Master Kenobi made introduction.

I decided that before the question could be asked, a bit of clarification should be said. “It is a pleasure to meet you Commander, I am in your hands. If you need a distinction for me, I and those of my species answer to Firrerreo.”

“Of course, Sir.” The man answered. And that was going to be strange, I just knew it.

“Welcome aboard.” Obi-Wan said as he made to lead me to my quarters. I gave nods to the two who had brought me and a nod to the Commander as I followed him. I guess that this was my new life. I was no doubt going to learn quite a bit here. Anticipation ran through me with every step I took.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there we have it! It was a bit short, and I skipped around the times a little, but just as important as any other chapter. I hope that you liked it, and please let me know what you thought about it!


	5. How to Assimilate to Life in Space

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Nemira did join her Master during a fight, they technically are not on assignment. So it is time to get used to everything and see how she fits in with the battalion.  
> Cody nearly has a panic. But at least Rex is there to help him through it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jedi stuff and group stuff, I didn't really want to just plow into the war without creating new connections and letting her meet everyone outside of it too. I felt that this was needed.  
> Also, we get to see what Cody thinks of her! Cody is one of my favorites. Obi-Wan, Cody, Ahsoka, and Rex.  
> And yes, I do something use these notes to comment on personal things. Hope no one minds. I know that not everyone reads them anyway.

I had never been off planet for more than a week. I had never been off Coruscant for more than the trip to Ilum to get my kyber crystal for my light saber, actually. And now there was something about the artificial gravity and light and heat that really just felt off. But it only took a small time to acclimate to it. Though, the differences were rather trying.

The first thing we did was go to his quarters where we had the time to do the ceremony in which I earned my braid and beads. There were a couple of Masters from the temple and a few on break in the field that were called as witness. Master Kenobi cut my hair into a pixie cut, a little boyish but no so much that anyone would mistake me as one, and braided my one long strand of two-toned hair. And every so often a bead was added. It was nice. It was a personal moment for us to really get the measure of each other.

Then we moved on as my first day was spent shadowing my new master as he started to teach me little everyday things that I would need to know for the ship; how the mess hall worked, where to go for what, how to find him, and even the best places to meditate. He also took the time to spar with me in the training room.

I thought that I did well enough. I think my speed of defense impressed him, though he did comment on how I never seemed to press openings. The clone Commander and a few of the men in the Ghost Company were also watching to see where I would fit in when they were down in the field. Because that was something that would probably be happening sooner rather than later. I just hoped that I was ready for it if I was honest.

I learned that my new Master was a master of Soresu, and after sparing with me he agreed that it would be the form most suited for me at the moment. He took me through the katas and even though I knew the basics he still started there to make sure that my base understanding was still there. It would not do for me to be sloppy in this form. Considering it was all about defense, it was important to me to try my best to master it.

Perhaps the most interesting thing to happen on their first day was my first real conversation with the Commander. I could tell that my master trusted him a great deal just as I hoped I would be able to as well. I could also tell that he was very unsure of how to deal with me. I could feel it in the Force as it came off as a general uneasiness that I knew he was feeling.

Not that I could blame him. I was basically a child with no training in war coming in with the same rank as him and expecting his men to listen to me. And that rank was high. I had learned that Commander Cody was a Marshal Commander, and yet as a Padawan I still outranked him in the orders department. It was all very confusing and terrifying. I was not yet confident in my ability to lead these men either. Perhaps in time I would be, but I was twelve. I still had time to grow and learn. To come into myself.

It actually came to the point that I sat with him in the mess hall and decided to put my cards on the table so to speak. I literally went up to him with a polite smile and said "I know I am new here, I don't have the experience to reliably lead your men yet, so your teaching and advice when the time comes would be very welcome. I hope to learn much from you, Commander."

The man looked surprised that I would say something like that. Then he replied "You are jetti, we're trained to follow your lead. If serving under General Kenobi has taught me anything, it is that though you may lead in unorthodox ways, you and those of your like always do your best to lead us well. I have faith that you will do your best to bring us through the battles ahead. And I will do my best to advise you as you may need."

I don't think I could have described how touched that made me. To have that kind of blind faith was daunting, but it was also heartwarming. I smiled genuinely at him and said softly "I will do all I can to be deserving of the faith you have placed in me." I meant every word.

Then I went ahead and tried to eat the rations served to us. They left something to be desired, even if these specific ones had been tailored for my needs and were high in protein. I would just have to live with them I guessed. Even if they were colorless blocks of compressed nutrients and no flavor. They were also chalky and took about a gallon of water to wash away the after taste. But I guess those were the joys of military rations during a war.

I learned to fly an x-wing in the first week as well. Waxer and his partner who I learned from listening was called Boil, though I would not be using that name without him first giving it to me himself, took me out for a spin. It was honestly exhilarating and nothing at all like the simulations I had learned on, you know, as I had never been in a real one before. Though I was a cautious flyer and they all agreed that I would be better on cannons or on the ground. Not weaving my way through dogfights and around enemy flagships.

However, it did give a nice demonstration of my precognitive skills. At one point I said something to Waxer, it was a warning about veering too far to the right. It was not in the chipper tone that the crew had started to associate with me, but a more serious tone. It was honestly just a fluttering in the Force that I interpreted as if I was in the middle of a card game in the middle of a seedy bar surrounded by thugs. It was something I was used to doing, and so I said it without hesitation.

"Is this like the time you knew we were coming in hot on the shuttle?" He had asked, remembering the shuttle ride we had met on as he rolled to the left.

"A little bit, but a little less imminent." I had answered easily.

That was when Master Kenobi decided to pick up a comm. and ask "Do you often get premonitions from the Force?" His tone had no judgment in it, only curiosity. It was an interesting question. On one hand some wouldn't believe me even if I said yes, but in another I wanted to be completely honest with him. He was my Master, and I had to trust him. Not to mention Nichole had always loved Obi-Wan as a character.

"Fairly often, yes. It's nothing huge, but I get feelings and nudges. Most times when I first meet a stranger I can divine something from their soon to be future. Master Sinube's teachings has helped me somewhat refine that skill actually." I had answered honestly. I didn't get visions. Or, I didn't think that I did. I just got feelings, and then I let the Force and my intuition put those feelings into words for others.

Master Kenobi hummed slightly before saying "That is a very rare but useful skill to have, but remember to be mindful of the present and not to let visions of the future distract you. The future is always in motion."

"Yes, Master," I had said simply as the topic was shelved for the time being. I had a feelings it would come back fairly soon, but that was to be expected. I was not going to ignore them, but I did have other things to focus on. Not to mention that was advice that I had heard before. The future was always changing, always in motion as beings were fickle creatures and were constantly changing their minds. So I focused on what I was learned here and now and let everything else be secondary.

Over all I thought that I assimilated very well to my change of circumstances. But my favorite part of the beginning was when Master Kenobi meditated with me. He seemed to trust in me to learn the lessons he wanted me to learn without saying them out right.

It was like putting a puzzle together but doing so with the pieces turned upside-down and by touch alone sometimes. He had double speak that was made to confuse or lead. I had to read between lines, and more importantly look at what wasn’t said. Sometimes I even had to shift my point of view to know the truth or lessons in his words. Other times he meant exactly what he said, but was being vague or humorous about it. I needed to interpret what was said and what was meant.

In contrast it was nice how blunt the clones were. They said what they meant and when they meant it. I could always count on their true thoughts on a subject, and if they were cautious about answering you could read that as well in every part of their body language. So much so that I would change the subject when I saw the start of said nervousness. And I liked talking with the clones themselves, even if I didn't know most of their names.

They had a lot of thoughts on things that others might think were inconsequential of not in their purview. I learned that they were smart and that they had good heads on their shoulders. That individuality that I had seen with Waxer and his partner was seen in all of them. From the paint on their armor, to their specializations, and even to the way that they talked. The words said. The words not said. They did speak a lot of mando'a, but it was mixed with basic in a way that everything was easy to interpret.

I was growing comfortable. And that was perfectly alright.

###  Interlude: How Commander Cody Learns to Deal with a Mini Jedi

CT-2224, otherwise known as Commander Cody, nearly had a panic attack when his General told him that he was gaining a new padawan. He had nothing against whoever it would be, of course, but he had his hands full already with only one Jedi. In his experience the more Jedi there were congregated the harder it was to keep track of them all and their ridiculous stunts. And they always seemed to feet off of each other.

He had managed to avoid seeing Skywalker as a padawan too. That was when Alpha 17 was Kenobi’s Commander. But as that same clone was the one who trained Cody and the other Clone Commanders of his batch, he had heard stories. Most of them were horrible. In the kind of way that reminded him of a transport crash. You knew it was going to be bad, but you just couldn’t look away and instead needed to watch it unfold.

It was truly no wonder that he called up his vod as quickly as he could as soon as he was alone. Captain Rex was just getting used to the padawan that General Skywalker had taken on. If anyone knew how to handle this, it would be him. If anyone had advice it would be him.

"What has the General done this time?" Rex asked the moment he picked up without wasting any time on pleasantries. Well, that was one way to start this conversation.

"Apparently his new padawan is inbound. Vod, how the kriffin' hell do you deal with a mini Jedi?" Cody asked as he tried to keep his panic out of his voice. He had a good reputation among the ranks, and even if the other Commanders and Rex knew it was mostly false, it didn’t hurt to keep up appearances.

There was silence on the other end for a moment before a groan was heard. "Oh, this is just great. Well, Commander Tano is just like a mini General Skywalker, I guess. A little ball of energy and whirling lightsabers. And a temperament to match. Just, I don't know, treat her as you would the General?" He said, though it sounded like a question still.

Cody had a bad feeling about this.

It was a week later that Cody found himself calling Rex up again. A week of getting to know the young girl who had arrived with Waxer and Boil in the middle of a dogfight. As entrances go, it was actually pretty impressive that she had gotten to the command ship without injury and with the transport hardly grazed by laser fire.

Then he watched as she somehow won over the entirety of the 212th in only a few short days. There were never any names dropped, just her walking up and talking to them individually as politely and kindly as she could. In fact, looking back on it, the question of names only ever came up on looking back on the conversation. Usually people started a conversation with introductions, and when that wasn't offered, they all just rolled with it until the conversation was over and she fluttered to a different group or part of the ship.

At this point he was sure half of his men wanted to tell her their names but couldn't find the right time to drop it into conversation. Not to mention the other quarter had just dropped it in the most embarrassing way possible. Cody had thought that they all spent enough time around the General to be at least a little more eloquent with words. What, with him being the Negotiator and all.

The real kicker was that she didn't even seem to notice how wrapped around her fingers they all were. Kenobi did, in fact it had been an ongoing bet to see when he would lose his composure and actually laugh at the poor sod who was in the padawan's sights at any given moment. Even the admiral was having difficulty staying unconnected to her. It was as if a miniature sun had found its way on board and was trying to bring them all light. And they had yet to truly fight alongside her yet.

It was almost frightening how things were changing so quickly. There was a new rule book of all things going around the gossip circles on the needs that she would have as a near-human that they might not know. For instance, she came with updates for the medical scanners and a box of rations created for someone with her needs. It was ridiculous. And yes, he had skimmed through that the moment that he got one in his hands.

"Rex here," came a gruff voice from his comm.

"She has them all wrapped around her little finger. If she asks them to jump, they wouldn't even wonder to ask how high." Cody found himself saying in lieu of a greeting as he called again later.

The Captain snorted at that. "I know the feeling. So, what is she like? There are bets going over here on what her personality is." Rex asked casually.

"Like nothing I was expecting. She is always nice and polite and just so kriffing thoughtful of everyone. I don’t even know how to explain it. At first glance I thought she would be like General Kenobi, but she really isn't. You remember when we met the senator that everyone is pretty sure Skywalker is sweet on, she is like that but with her bite more hidden and, I don’t know, less soft?" Cody tried to explain and failed, because that didn't quite sound right either. "I guess you'll just have to meet her for yourself."

"I guess I will. So, how is everyone else doing, vod?" Rex changed the subject. The next few minutes they exchanged their usual banter and updates. Things were going well at the moment. They both hoped it would stay that way. Even as they both knew that it wouldn't. Not in this war.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that was that! I hope that you liked it and let me know what you thought!


	6. How to Plant Ideas on Accident in Public

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There have been reports of a super weapon being used by the separatists! Of course Nemira is no where near that yet, but she does have some interesting ideas about what she thought it could be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A slight disclaimer, I am not very technologically advanced. I am actually much to the exasperation of my family more on the level of technophobic at times. I have learned how things work through Science Fiction shows and movies. And maybe a few books too. So if something doesn't make sense, oops.  
> Besides, in Star Wars people can survive in space without the correct sort of suit. A little techno stuff that doesn't actually make sense is nothing compared to that. And in this case I am pretty sure I am accurate. Google is a wonderful thing.  
> I am also not too thrilled with this chapter, but it needed to be written. Idk.  
> She is still nervous and adjusting to figuring out her part in all of this I guess.

It was another few days before things started to pick up. Relating to the war I mean. Things always seemed to be pretty lively around the ship with how many of us there were on it. Now reports were coming in to us about ships being destroyed without any survivors. They were just completely destroyed. The debris and bodies floating as far as the eye could see. And no clues as to what was doing it. 

The only thing that they knew was that there were whispers about super weapon that was supposedly being used by General Grievous. It was enough that it made me nervous. The title Super Weapon and the vast shows of destruction, well, it reminded me about the documentaries that Nicole had once watched describing the atom bombs. Super weapons as a general rule made me a little twitchy.

Actually, it seemed to make everyone twitchy. I was there on the bridge as the council was told about Master Plo Koon by Knight Skywalker and his Padawan, and then as they were ordered not to do anything about it. But by the look on Master Kenobi's face, I knew that it was not an order that was going to be followed. Though, he didn't say anything about it as he signed off. 

With my head down I followed along without saying anything either. We had things to do and systems to protect. We were too busy to be thinking too hard about a different battalion. Sooner than I thought, after a very exasperated call that my master had with Anakin, we were back in front of the holocasters talking with the other generals. Apparently, the weapon was an ion cannon. And Skywalker had saved Master Koon and a few troopers that had survived. It was good to see that we didn't lose him, Master Plo Koon that it, he was a warm presence that sometimes visited the younglings in the temple. We all liked him. 

But back to this ion cannon. That confused me for a moment and I found myself saying "But those are extremely temperamental and take a lot of energy. Wouldn't it have been safer and more permanent if they had created an electromagnetic pulse instead? That wouldn't have completely fried the tech so that it wouldn't be salvageable. The shielding for that is rather less expensive as well."

There was silence as I finished commenting about that. So much so that I looked up to see that the council was watching me and not saying anything. I could feel my cheeks go darken with a blush. "Though, I guess that it wouldn't be much of a super weapon if they could recover after wards, but that would also be less expensive for them if one of their droid battalions got hit with it. Not to mention it can only go for long distances with a nuclear component and that might force a meltdown."

To the side I saw the Commander just barely abort a roll of his eyes while looking exasperated but kind of in a fond way. Like he couldn't believe that I had said that, but at the same time it wasn't a bad thing and was almost expected. I guess I was in his good books. The collective on call decided to ignore my input and continue their discussion. So I decided to take out my cell and a stylus and began to design an EMP gun. I wondered if it would work how I wanted it and maybe how small I could make it.

You know, the only time that I had seen an EMP gun was in my memories when Nicole watching Leverage. Hardison had one. And he was one of my favorite characters. He used it to fry a car once. Well, more than once actually. Still, it seemed like a fun thing to work on.

At that point I was backed up to be out of range and one of the soft shell communications clones was looking over my shoulder interested. So, I whispered to him what I was doing and he pointed out things that he wondered about or thought he could improve. And I made the changes on the schematics that I was making. Learning about making droids had taught me how to make a real schematic.

The boys were all very excited about any kind of weapon that they could use. Most had the standard three variants of a blaster, but a few hid vibroblades in their vambraces and boots. I know that the medics also carried laser cutters to get partially melted armor off the injured. And if rumors were right, they could be terrifying with those in a fight. It was one of those unspoken rules; never fight the medics, they will beat you to next ten-day. Ten-day being the galactic standard for a week. Well, for the republic anyway. 

Moving on, I heard enough to know that we were going after Grievous who was going after a medical facility. A medical facility that was treating thousands of clones at this very moment. Over 60 thousand to be exact. It was very important that we get there first to protect them. Tensions were high, and I hoped that we could save as many as we could. Saving lives was my goal.

In the meantime, further into the bridge I heard Obi-Wan having a bit of a quip with Skywalker. I could tell that he was worried, but also that he was worried on two fronts. Both for the medical facility and for his former padawan. There was quite a lot that could go wrong here, that I knew. I even opened myself up to the Force to see what it would deign to tell me.

The call ended and my master let out a sigh. "Well, this will be interesting if nothing else." He said as he stood more firmly on the bridge.

"It will work out. Have faith in your former padawan, he knows what he is doing and he will get there in time. Well. Mostly in time." I found myself saying as I looked up from my work. My tone was a little spacey, distracted even. But that was how I usually acted when I opened myself up to the Force.

I didn't realize it, but my second membrane closed over my eyes and then opened again as I shook off the feeling. It apparently gave me an almost mystical look as it clouded over my eyes. It was quickly shoved off though, and even as Master Kenobi looked at me strangely for a moment, he still moved on just as fast as I did.

"So, tell me the theory about this electromagnetic pulse?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

I smiled as I hopped up to him with my cellphone. It was something that they had gotten used to me pulling out to make notes on or just distract myself with. I don’t think that they knew I also used it to keep in contact with a couple other people. Data pads didn't usually work that way, communications commonly went through terminals instead. 

I lost myself as we were in hyperspace explaining why I should make a mini EMP ray because of all of its varied uses and how awesome it would be. The explanation was punctuated by wide arm gestures and a few weirdly specific examples of what it could be used for. Yes, in the ten minutes it had knocked around in my mind I really had imagined the uses of it.

He never said no, but he did listen with an indulgent smile. I took that as permission enough. I was going to put this on the list of things to make. The low-key thumbs up that the clone I had been talking to earlier gave me only confirmed that thought.

This was something of a morale booster. I was giving a distraction to them and talking about a lighter topic. It was always nice to have a little bit of a humorous or light topic floating around even when things were serious and we needed to concentrate. It kept the tension from getting too stiff. Alertness was good, but jumping at shadows was not.

...

We reached the medical port in time. Well, mostly in time. Skywalker had lost a few men, but that was almost expected at this point. He had gotten rid of the ion cannon, but a few of the transports had been destroyed with two others out of power and drifting.

I was sent out to go and retrieve survivors including the three surviving men from the three two person bombers that had been caught in the cannon and the people caught in either escape pods or downed ships. The good news was that we had gotten there in enough time that the people stuck in the transports weren't in bad condition yet. The ones who were injured were a little worse for wear, but it could have been so much worse. 

I coordinated with the medical facility to tow the ships in. It was careful work that took longer with the amount of communication that we had to send through to each other on half functioning comms, but I was right where I wanted to be as Obi-Wan and Admiral Yularen relentlessly attacked the Malevolence. That was apparently the name of the Separatist flag ship; the Malevolence. I was just saving what lives that I could as they did that.

After that, I and the others who were out cleaning up came back to The Negotiator. The ship that was named after its General. I guess that Master Plo Koon was up there as well. It did somewhat bite that my first real brush with danger and Grievous was spent in cleanup for the most part, but I also wasn’t about to complain. I knew that before this was over, if I lived long enough, I would have a lot of fights to participate in. 

All said and done we were all welcomed back on the ship. The two other Jedi beat me to it, but I wasn’t keeping track, not even a little bit. It was the first time that I got to meet Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano. It was short as we were still doing our part to bring down that ship.

Anakin was busy with whatever he did, and Obi-Wan seemed distracted as well. But it was perhaps the first time that I had ever interacted with Ahsoka. We were in different clans at the temple and she was at least a year older than me. And I hadn't known her from any of the movies, so this was interacting with a Jedi I knew absolutely nothing about. It was nice. 

"It's good to meet you," I said as I offered her a hand. We were all on the bridge at this point and though we were firing all lasers at the enemy, the ship was still so massive that it didn’t seem as if we were breaking through at all.

She seemed to blink blankly at me for a moment before taking my hand and shaking it lightly with a smile. "I look forward to working with you," she acquiesced. It was nice that I was going to be tall from what I could tell as I was at eye level with her. It was only the horn like montrals on her head made her taller than me.

We then connected as we started to share stories of what little time we had so far with our masters. There weren't many stories really, but some mutual commiseration. It was a lot of gossip to be honest. I imagine that the Commander was resisting the urge to join in, and only because of his indoctrinated professionalism. And his reputation with everyone not working with him on a regular basis. 

Everything was going great. This was feeling like a win. So, of course, we got waylaid by the appearance of a senator that somehow got caught up in all of this. Senator Amidala jumped right along side the ship and got pulled into it. And now Grievous had a captive. With the response that followed I now understood a little bit of why the gold Commander had his hands full with Master Kenobi. This was purely ridiculous. The amount of luck and scheming that had to go into making something like that happen was astronomical. 

Skywalker left almost immediately after we stopped firing to go and get her and Kenobi followed right behind. It left both of us padawans with Master Koon and not with them to learn or help. We were kind of forgotten as we both shared long-suffering looks. And here I hadn’t even had a conversation with my brother-padawan yet.

“There he goes again, craving adventure and excitement.” The Kel Dor said with a sigh in his voice. Though, it was hard to make out the tone of his words with his mask. I wondered if it was just as uncomfortable as my voice modulator was. But, then again, his was needed for survival.

“You get used to it.” Ahsoka had assured him and me.

I let out my own sigh “Great, I’m looking forward to it.” I wasn’t really, but there was nothing else I could really think to say.

We contacted Master Unduli for more fire power as we waited. It seemed like a good tactic seeing as we really didn’t have enough fire power to get rid of the ship quickly. She seemed a bit despairing about the situation, but that could just be her characteristically bland voice. She was just finished with her own skirmish and was in hyperspace to get to us. 

Padme Amidala was just as amazing as I thought she would be, and I had also yet to meet her properly. She had hailed us via the Malevolence’s internal communications systems and was just about rescuing herself. I really do believe that she could have also gotten off of the ship on her own given enough time as well. She even advocated shooting the ship down with her on it. She was that fearless. Or so it seemed. 

And honestly, it was rather hard to not see the relationship that was there, even if they didn’t seem to be saying much. The relationship between the Senator and Knight Skywalker. There was something personal in their address to each other and the way that they were frantic about the other. It was slightly ridiculous. But looking at the others, it was rather startling to notice that they didn’t see it. None of them seemed to see it, and that seemed strange to me. 

The only real problem that we were having though was that it was race of priorities. We needed to destroy the enemy ship and hopefully General Grievous as well, but we needed our people off of said ship first. Luckily, they came out of it before the time was up.

Even cooler was that Skywalker somehow hotwired it so that they made a hyper drive jump straight into a moon. That ship would no longer be a problem. I imagined that was going to cost the Separatists a pretty penny. Or a load of credits. Either saying works, I guess.

It was nice to be victorious.

…

Much later when I was alone with Obi-Wan in their quarters for meditation, I said lightly "I meant to tell you this before, but between you and me, my name is Nemira."

"It is a pleasure to have earned your trust, Nemira." He had said back with a smile.

Things were okay. For now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there we have it! The Malevolence Arc. Going forward I will be obviously working more towards the show and the arcs that they provide. But that doesn't mean that I won't add a few arcs of my own just because.  
> Please let me know what you thought!


	7. How to Confuse Everyone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For their second real mission, the Council has decided with some input from Master Sinube to see just how well informed Nemira's information network is. This time it is to catch a criminal. Not the usual mission for the 212th, but they are mostly adaptable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to have fun with their network and establish it's hilarity and illogical wonderfulness a bit more. Poor Nemira is out of her depth. But she is trying. That is the important part.   
> Also, I totally know that Wooley was probably a shiny during the Ryloth arc, but I like him. And you can't take him away from me! Also, no one is dead unless I say they are dead! I became really attached really quickly as I watched Clone Wars. I would make a horrible Jedi.   
> P.S. Eliot Nassore was just a name I pulled from my brain. No reference was meant.

Life had gotten thrown into something of a routine lately. We would drift from place to place to help out before someone went out to do an inspection and then go again. I was getting to know the men better, and I was surprised at how quickly I liked them.

Of course, there were a few I liked best. Commander Cody had basically told me to use his name one day, along with most of the company. Setter was the medic that I found myself talking to most, and of course Waxer and Boil were on my list of favorites. Crys, Trapper, and Wooley were also nice people to talk to. They were solid. The others as well, but it was easy to find those six.

Of course, Boil was always a bit of a grump about it, but it was part of his charms. He liked to pretend that he wasn't as soft as he was. It was a good balance to Waxer who could be terrifying one moment in the line of action, but around anything he thought was adorable would melt into a puddle of goo. 

It was right after Cody got back from his inspection with Captain Rex of the 501st that there was a change in pace. There was a call from the Jedi council and they wanted me in attendance. I couldn't think of why they would want to speak to me as I had done nothing wrong, but I was nervous. That damnable guilty conscious was a thing, even when there was no reason for it.

It did not help my nerves in the lease that there were four Jedi Masters on the call as we holoed in. And they were all looking with their serene judgment faces. On a holo call it was sometimes hard to know exactly where someone was looking. But it sure felt like they were all watching me.

"Recently there has been a break in at one of the security rooms in the Senate building. The man who did it took quite a few secure codes and information that could cause the Republic a lot of damage. The man is Eliot Nassore, and intelligence puts him in Nar'shadda to sell that information to the Separatists." Master Windu explained seriously.

"And you wanted us on his tail because?" Master Kenobi prompted with a raised eyebrow. He was kind of awesome to be so unfazed in the face of the council. Even if he too was on said council.

"Master Sinube has made us aware that the intelligence network that he helped your padawan create would be useful in tracking him down. Even on a planet that she hasn't been to before." Master Mundi said, though he made it sound as if he wasn't so sure about that. I wasn't too sure about that either if I were to be honest.

But as their eyes turned to me, for real this time, I answered "I am unsure how my usual methods will work, but I will do my best. Force be willing I will only need a few hours planet side to get the information I need." I made sure to sound confident as Cody and the command staff on the cruiser were looking at me incredulously.

Huh, no one told them just what I had gotten into on Coruscant. I mean, it was nothing major really, but I had thought that the fact I was taught by the Jedi Master who knew everything about crime would have clued them in. But I suppose it was time to show my hand, so to speak. Though, Nar'shadda was not the place I would have picked for that. It was a Hutt planet that was rife with gangsters and pirates, as well as slavers and thieves. But I really would give it my all. 

There were a few nods and the Jedi signed off. I was then treated to multiple curious faces with eye brows raised. We had an hour to jump into the planet we needed and I figured that we were going to take a shuttle though, so I had an out for the moment.

I quite literally fled the bridge with Obi-Wan calling after me to meet them in the main hanger in three minutes. I called back quickly "So long as you get me a smaller blaster, I'll be good!"

That caused quite a few snorts and a questioning look; Jedi didn't usually use blasters. But I wasn't about to bring out the fake blaster with them around, or into such an unknown. I would never hear the end of it. Ever. For as long as I lived.

Once in my quarters I quickly shucked off my usual clothes and was in the grey and white ones of my alter ego in a few minutes before grabbing the voice synthesizer and cloak and holding them as I ran to the hanger. I also had the empty holster lying on my right thigh ready for that blaster.

Before I left the room though, I made sure to take out my cell and send to my bounty hunter ‘ _Making a stop at Nar-Shadda, there is something I need there. Have any recommendations on a good bar for me to set up in?_ _'_

I didn’t wait for a response as I was tight on time and knew that this was a time sensitive mission. Running down the halls, my attire did gain some more curious looks, but I just shot them all a fanged smile and they just moved out of my way. It was nice being a part of the command staff at times, no one bothered to question me when I started to act weird. Being subjected to looks was enough, but the questions would take forever to answer. 

The shuttle was already primed and ready, Obi-Wan and Commander Cody standing ready to enter along with Crys and a pilot I had yet to get to know. Cody looked at my new attire without getting into why I was wearing it and handed me the blaster I had requested.

It was actually scarily similar to the dud that I had been using. I inspected it carefully, finding the settings on it and even the safety that I turned on for the moment. I also figured that mentioning that I didn’t necessarily know how to use a blaster would not go well at this point when I needed one on my person. I would ask for lessons later.

“So, padawan mine, walk me through the process that you have for gaining information.” Master Kenobi said as the ship took off and the clones got ready to take us into hyperspace. Clearly, they were all ready for this. I was glad that it would be efficient.

“Well,” I started nervously “first off you have to trust me. I know that my information gathering is unorthodox and shouldn’t work, but for some reason it does. I was very confused the first year that I started it. And I can’t really explain why or how it works without you just seeing it in action.”

That got me another raised eye brow and a motion to continue. Stars, this was really hard to get into words. I wonder how Master Sinube had sold this to the council. He was always so much better at words than I was. It probably came from being over a hundred years old. 

Checking the response on my cell I said carefully “I’m going to go to the bar called The Purple Nerf,” I made a face as I said that, it was weird, “and I’m going to go in and buy a drink. I won’t actually be drinking it. Then I’m going to start a game of sabacc. The winner of the game will have the information that we need. I will talk to him afterwards and maybe a few of the other players. After that we will leave and know where to go to catch our thief.” I said with certainty.

“That,” Cody started with his words dripping in doubt, “is not how information gathering works.” And he sounded so sure about it too. I wondered what they were taught about information gathering in Kamino. It had to have been a course they had taken.

I sighed “It is how my network works. And I will maybe explain more if I can after this is all over. I was honestly very confused about it as well. But Master Sinube knows what he is talking about. It will be fine.” I replied with confidence that I didn’t feel.

“Well, this will be a learning experience.” Master Kenobi said with an amused tilt to his lips. I had no idea what he was amused about, but at least he wasn’t as incredulous as the others seemed to be. Though, he may also have been employing sarcasm. He was really hard to read at times. 

“Oh, and if you are coming with us, Commander, you are going to have to ditch the armor. The closest thing my network has gotten to the law was an undercover cor-sec officer who we had too much fun confusing the hels out of.” I added as an afterthought.

Cody made a face at that, but I ignored it as centered myself in the Force. It had probably been too long since I had done my rapid-fire future seeing, and I needed to get that ready before I was planet side. It would be the difference between success and me falling through. I didn’t know the people who were mine here on this foreign planet. I hadn’t needed to know them until now. And now I was going to have to try and sort everything out.

I didn’t even know how well I would be received here. Lady Nexu was someone who was kept secret from those who were outside of her circle. I knew that the circle had spread to across the galaxy, but I did not know how thickly or thinly it was spread.

When we landed, I quickly put on the mask and pulled the cloak over me with the hood obscuring the rest of my face. When I began to walk there was nothing of the padawan that they had gotten to know in the gait or the set of my shoulders. It was as if I was someone completely different. And it was, I made sure that she was not anything like I was when I started to truly create this alter ego. There needed to be separation from me and Lady Nexu. 

“Wish me luck,” I called back. The modified voice was deeper and with more of a growl as always. If it startled them, I didn’t notice as I was striding forward without pause.

The Purple Nerf was actually smaller than I expected it to be in this place of no laws. I came in took a dramatic look around and then made for the smooth bar and ordering some random drink. It was once again one that I wouldn’t actually touch. I was not old enough to drink by a long shot. I took notice of Obi-Wan and Cody coming in and taking a seat on the opposite end of the bar, but I made no move to acknowledge them.

About half an hour passed before I stood, drink in hand, and went over to the sabacc tables where a game had just ended. As I sat the table was suddenly filled by new people. People I could tell were mine from little things on their person that I recognized as symbolic. Declaring yourself to a certain group of people was actually a huge thing in the underworld, but unless you knew what to look for you would never notice it. The cards were passed around and the game had started.

The quips and pulls of the other players drifted over me, only causing a few amused hums to come from me. But they were well received. And a lot of little gossip was filtered to me that might sound unimportant, but I could tell that it was hard information being fed to me about who and what to be careful about on this planet. They were protective of me out here as well it seemed. Strange that. I knew that the people I interacted with regularly probably were because they had figured out that I was still young. But these were people who probably didn't know that much about me. 

In reward, I started to give little bits of advice that I felt out in the force even as I followed the will of the Force in how I played. Once more it was little things. But it started up the rumor sharing even more and I was learned a lot more about the Hutts on this planet than I ever thought I needed to know. Most of it was not nice, but still good to know.

About half ways through I felt a nudge from the Force to do something a little bit different. And it was centered on a Twi’lek who was losing pretty spectacularly. But he wasn’t here for this game, but something else.

Taking out a pre-made sack of credits, I tossed it at the man and said shortly but kindly “Fold, I will speak to you after I speak with the winner.”

There was no protest as the man got up and bowed to me and said reverently “Thank you, my lady.” He then turned and went to one of the tables not too far away. Taking a look at his cards, they were just as pitiful as I thought they would be. And I still didn't know all of the rules to this game. 

The hand ended in a winner. It was a runner of a sort if I was reading him correctly. He was a human, that I could tell, and I was also pretty sure that though he was one of mine, he was also a bit sleazier than I was used to dealing with. It was clear that the others who were mine were of the same opinion as they were watching him wearily.

“Come, speak with me.” I said as I stood and he grabbed the credits that he had won. I led him to the bar close enough to Master Kenobi and Commander Cody so that they could hear what was about to be spoken. I didn’t really want to be repeating this over and over again.

Sitting, he ordered himself a drink while I pretended to nurse the drink that I was still holding. “Eliot Nassore has something of mine, and I want it back. Tell me where to find him, before the Republic and Separatists get to him.” I demanded. But it was also clear that I was not being confrontational or even dangerous.

The man squeaked for a moment before looking around the bar frantically. I quickly put a stop to that as I grabbed his wrist and pulled him back down to the bar and into his seat. “But, milady, he is dangerous!” He said quietly.

“And so can I be when the mood strikes me. The information, if you please. I have already paid you.” I said sternly with more of a growl, and the men and women I had been playing with and had dispersed through the bar all seemed to tense at the quick movement around me. So had Cody and Obi-Wan. It was almost cute.

“It, it is said, from a source I can’t tell you about naturally, that he will be holding an auction in two rotations in the Racing Rancor. They have a few back rooms. And he says he has information valuable for both sides of the war and, and that he has a few other things as well.” The man finally stuttered out.

I hummed once more before I clapped him on the shoulder. “Good, you may go. But remember, tell anyone else and you may not survive the night.” I told him with an edge of premonition. And then I went to go and speak with the Twi’lek as I promised. I paid no attention to the scurrying of the boy.

Half way to him though, some idiot decided that they didn’t like my presence here. It was a belligerent drunk with too much self-worth and not enough caution. That much was obvious as he stood and barred my passage. “Who the hell are you? Thinkin’ you can come in ‘ere and we all will bow and scrape.” He challenged with a drunken slur.

“You will get out of my way,” I said simply and with a harder voice once again. One could also hear the inhuman growl that many would think came from the voice synthesizer alone. The only thing I didn’t add was a Force suggestion as it would do no one good for me to try as I hadn't learned to do that just yet. Well, that and every eye in the bar was on us.

“Now look ‘ere!” He started as he took a threatening step forward. As one all of the people I had identified as mine, a dozen and a half, stood and pointed blasters at the man. Not a single one of them was pointed at me. This was clearly my lair at the moment. I probably had my bounty hunter to thank for that as well.

“I think you should go outside for a moment. Some fresh air might do you good.” I said calmly. And the man did as I said as he nervously eyed the blasters pointed in his general direction. His hasty retreat had a few of my people jeering and laughing at his back as they sat back down. A few others made their way out as well. Clearly, I had just taken over this establishment. And if nothing else, it served as a reminder that my network was technically an underground organization. Violence was to be expected. 

“What did you have to ask of me?” I asked kindly as I sat at the new table, shaking off the nerves that ran through me at what had just happened. 

The man seemed to vibrate with his own nerves for a moment before he answered “My sister and her husband, they are still on Ryloth. I worry of them. Communications have been spotty at best, but now it seems that they are even worse. I believe that they are being taken over soon and I don’t know how to help them.”

I had heard of that, of the fighting on Ryloth. There was quite a bit of it, and none of it was very good. It wouldn’t surprise me if the Separatists were going to be successful in their invasion for a while. I breathed deeply and looked to the Force to know what to say.

I saw quite a bit. A village pillaged and the people kneeling surrounded by droids. A little Twi’lek girl watching from the shadows in fear. Ravenous creatures looking for food. Clones walking forward and fighting, two of them befriending the girl. They had orange yellow stripes; they were of the 212th. I saw liberation. I saw trials. I saw life, and I saw death.

“Tell your sister not to fight right away when the droids take over her village. Cooperate to give the Jedi and the Republic time to free them again. If she keeps her head down, she will be fine, and so will your brother in law. They will be prisoners for a short time, but they will be free in the end.” I said with my voice sounding a bit far away.

The man reached across the small table and took hold of my hand before he bowed his head so that his forehead was touching the back of my gloved hand. It was strange, and I was not sure how to react to that. But he was already speaking, saying “Thank you, thank you, my lady; I have no way to repay your kindness.”

With my other hand I forced his head up gently and said even softer than before “You repay me by living. By doing well and protecting your family. Now go, make that call to your sister before it is too late." Communications will be more than a bit spottier from now on, anyone could figure out from the current climate. Soon there would be no communications with Ryloth. 

He left quickly to do as I said. I breathed carefully before standing to go to the bar keep. I placed a neat stack of credit chips on the counter and said lightly “For your troubles. Thank you for hosting us.” I then left to get back to the shuttle. I wanted to be back into my regular clothes before talking going on the information we had been given.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And done! I like this chapter a lot better than I liked the last one. Let me know what you all thought!


	8. How to Break In and Take Down the Enemy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nemira really needs to learn how to explain things better. But at least they got what they came for!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Basically what the title says in this one. I'm figuring out the dynamics and all of that!   
> Oh, and I might have made Commander Cody a bit sassy and snappy. Considering he has to deal with Obi-Wan Kenobi on a regular basis, I say he earned it honestly.   
> Oh, and WARNING talked about drugs. But no one does them.

It was a bit of a relief to get out of my Lady Nexu outfit and to put back on my padawan clothes. They were both comfortable, but it was a bit hot having the full cloak on. Not to mention the voice synthesizer mask was actually very uncomfortable to have on for a long period of time. I have no idea how Masters like Plo Koon could live with one always on. But I suppose they get used to it if they want to survive. 

When I came back into the cockpit, I was subjected to twin looks from the two who had accompanied me. They both were looking like they would really like an explanation. The only problem was that I did not know what to say to them. I mean, I had told them it was really weird. I had warned them. But, that never stops questions. 

With a sigh I plopped down and prompted “So, you have questions? Or are we going to do this after we deal with the Nassore?”

“Oh, apparently we have two rotations to wait for our target to be where we need him. I imagine that we can get him after this discussion is finished.” Master Kenobi said with his damnable smirk. I had a feeling that his was also internally laughing at me.

“What the kriffing hels was that in there?” Commander Cody cut right to the meat of the issue. I could always count on him to do that it seemed.

“So, I contacted my first contact and asked where to set up shop, and then went into The Purple Nerf and did as I always did. I don’t really know how it works. But it does. I know that I said that before. It’s really weird.” I tried to explain as I moved my hands this way and that to see if they would help with my explanation. I didn’t think that it did. In fact, it might have looked like I was flailing. But I supposed that it was worth a try.

“Who is this contact?” Crys asked curiously. It seemed as if he thought it was time for him to butt in as well. I had a feeling that entire scene in the bar had been broadcast to the others who were left behind via comm. I also wondered what bets were being made and how changed the story was going to be when we got back.

The clone gossip network was a force to be reckoned with on its own. They knew who exactly was with who, what everyone did in their free time, and there were even bets on what Jedi did the stupidest thing each month. But it was also known for taking things and twisting them into knots. By this time next week it will be known that I walked into an underground room where a throng of my thralls were waiting for me and obeying my every word. Or something like that. Knowing them, a blaster fight might even be added to it. 

I hummed slightly and tapped a finger to my chin to be a bit dramatic. “You know, I keep meaning to figure out her name, but the topic never comes up. She’s a Clawdite bounty hunter. I met her on the first outing that Master Sinube took me on. I’m pretty sure she is the driving force behind my entire network actually.” I said thoughtfully.

“Wait, you are in contact with a bounty hunter regularly?” Commander Cody asked in a voice that said he really did not want to be hearing what he was hearing. Not that I could blame him too much. I was I the same position when I was younger.

“Oh, she is really sweet actually. I mean, she is totally the one who set up that bar so that we could get the information that we needed. I can trust her when it comes to things like this.” I tried to reassure him. I’m not sure if it helped or not, but it seemed to be the thing to say. I liked my bounty hunter. She was reliable and always ready to draw her blaster when things were going wrong. Not that I was about to tell them that. It might make things worse. 

“That’s not –” he tried before he let out a sigh. “Never mind.” Oh, I didn’t believe that for a moment. There was clearly something that he wanted to say I knew because I had no doubts that it was what my inner, sane, thought process had.

“Remind the good men how old you were when you started this if you would. I must admit I am curious about this as well.” Master Kenobi ordered through a veil of good cheer. Obviously, he was either faking it, or he really was amused about all of this. Or he was milking this for as much drama as he could squeeze out. 

I paused to remember. “I was eight when I first came out. It wasn’t my idea, but I guess it all worked out for the best.” I answered with a decisive nod. Then I added “But they don’t know my age. I never told them and yet they all are still very protective of me.”

“You could say that again.” Cody muttered, and then he turned and said louder “Alright, enough of this, what is the plan now? We know where he will be, so where is he now?” The question was something that was needed as we still did have a job to do.

“Well, we know where the auction is, if we want to get the bidders as well, we could just wait for it to happen and jump in before anything is sold.” I shrugged as I looked to both Obi-Wan and Commander Cody.

The good General made a slight humming sound before saying “I would, but that is very sensitive information. If the Separatists get their hands on it, it could mean very bad things to the Republic.”

It was a good point. This entire thing was weird for many reasons. I didn’t think that I would ever be sent on something like this. I wasn’t sure what it was that we needed to do. But it was all very sensitive and time relative. It felt like a spy story. Espionage or something like that. 

“What if we stole the information without him knowing and then crash the auction after that? Would that be possible?” Crys asked as he swiveled in the pilot’s seat a bit.

“That is a good idea.” Obi-Wan said as he pointed at the clone for a moment. And I admit that there was excitement bubbling up within me. This just seemed as if it would be fun. A stealth mission and a dramatic entrance all in one. I was excited to see what was going to happen and how this would play out.

There wasn’t a planning session after that. Crys was set to guard the ship just in case. After all, this was Nar’Shadda, it was not known for being kind to anyone. Cody was given a cloak and was told to keep his bucket off. I was to stalk around in my Lady Nexu disguise as my Master was to stalk around in his own cloak as to not be recognized. Though, a Jedi in a cloak was very, very recognizable. Not that I said anything to him about it.

It made sense for me to be out in my disguise that after I had already basically told my people what I was here for. My people were really probably the only people to recognize me while the others would not think anything about my sulking. A lot of people stalked through the streets of this place though and I did not look out of place at all.

We started at the Racing Rancor and fanned out. It was Cody who found out where he was staying. Apparently, there was a hovel not far away where there was an inn of a sort. We all congregated around it, but we made sure that we were not all three seen together. It wouldn’t do to be associated with each other too much. Not when I was looking the way I was.

As it is one of the people who hadn’t been in the bar approached me just as Master Kenobi walked into the place to Force suggest his way through to the right room. It was a smaller man, one that I had never seen before, though that didn’t surprise me much. My comm was also on as we were keeping them open in case of emergencies. So every word spoken around me was going to be heard by the others. 

“My Lady, has the Jedi gotten there before you? Did you find what you needed?” The man asked me as he bowed slightly to me. The bow I could have really done without, but I was also not about to say anything either. Just in case.

Instead, I squared my shoulders, opened myself to the Force, and replied “No, he is simply doing the hard part. The dear Jedi isn’t the problem. I will be just fine. You however need to be sure to keep your son from the Death Sticks. It would not be very good for him to get addicted.”

There was a gasp before he groveled a bit in thanks and scampered off. Really, I don’t even know who he was or what he did. This was all very strange. I waited for him to be out of sight before I sighed and slouched a bit more. Death Sticks were crazy. I don't know why anyone would try them. They were glowing sticks made from some addictive mushroom found on one planet. It was a sure way to lose your life. Not to mention it was very easy to overdose and die from them. 

“Your adoring patrons clearly look to you for everything, don’t they?” Commander Cody asked rather sarcastically as we both were waved in though the newly opened window. He spent way too much time around Master Kenobi with a tone like that. Looking through the glass, it looked as if the man staying here was not in yet. That was convenient for us.

“What can I say? Tell a few future truths, give a little advice, and what do you know, they love you for it.” I quipped right back. We closed the window behind us just in case and began our search of the room.

Finding the information was disgustingly easy. Finding the backups was even easier. To put it simply I found the backup files on the man’s holo right before the other two found the hard copies. We quickly changed those out and then deleted the backups and replaced it with meaningless star charts.

Said charts were of planetary movements to a system that had been dead for nearly two thousand years and there was nothing there worth anything so it was safe to dump just about anywhere. Besides, that had been on me at the time because I was learning about as a part of the classes I was technically taking back at the Temple. Just because I wasn't in the temple didn't mean that my education had stopped. I knew for a fact that Ahsoka was also taking quite a few classes when she was away. It let us have extra data pads with lots of random information on them. So it was all very convenient.

We then left just as quickly as he entered and regrouped on the ship. That was about when I finally got to change into my padawan clothes for good on this mission. It was a relief for all of us. I think that Cody was tired of people stopping me to sing me praises, tell me something important, or ask for my opinion on something.

Because, seriously, I was stopped half a dozen times and each time there was a short, clipped, almost groveling conversation that ended me in saying some nonsense about the other’s future. Heck, a child at one point ran up to me and called me ‘Mother Nexu’ to show that I apparently had more than one endearment to my people as well. Though, I think it was hilarious when one of the women had given me a virbro blade that she apparently took off of an enemy of mine. I had slipped it into my belt and kept walking. 

I took great pains to seem unflappable, but I was tired by the end of it. So tired that, as they contacted the council to go over the plans to interrupt the auction to see if they couldn’t get a few workers for the Separatists in for questioning, I might have fallen asleep. In my defense it had been a very long day. And I had been channeling the Force for a very long time.

They didn’t seem to mind too much as they let me sleep. When I was awake again, we had been joined by a couple of shuttles with men from the 212th. This was new territory for them as the 212th was a designated attack battalion. They were used to running into a war zone and plowing through as best they could. This sort of mission was a bit surreal to them. There was excitement in the air.

I get the impression that this was often something that Skywalker and Torrent Company usually had to deal with. They were more used to strange situations like this. As a legion, they also had a more varied group of soldiers around. But like any good soldier they were good at being flexible.

On the night of the auction we surrounded the bar before almost manifesting from the shadows once it was about to start. There was no fight, and there were no runners. All of them gave up with the combined threat of twenty clones and two Jedi. They were rounded up quickly and sent to be questioned by others.

It almost seemed too easy, but then things like this were so successful because it was by invitation only. Most of the time no one knew about where or when they would take place but those who were in the know. It was lack of knowledge that hid them. I wonder then if the runner who told me knew because he was one of the ones who gave out said invites or if it was a family member.

Not that it mattered I supposed. The point was that I had the information and that it helped us save countless lives. And that was my final goal. I wasn’t in this to win a war or become the best Jedi that I could be. In the end all I wanted to do was make sure that lives that could be saved would be saved.

But that might have been getting a bit deep. I was glad when out time on the planet was done and we were sent back to The Negotiator with the rest of the clones. Once there we were told to transfer our prisoners to Master Unduli and watched as she and her padawan Barris Offee took them away with little conversation. It was quite the cold exchange. Strange even considering I was pretty sure that the two Jedi Masters were friends. 

I was glad for the sarcastic warmth of my Master by just watching that. I wasn’t always sure what he thought of me or what I did, but I did know that in the capacity that he was allowed to he cared for me. I have no doubt that the other two got along in their own ways, but I guess that was none of my business anyway.

I hoped that everything would work out alright from now on. Before going to sleep that night, I made sure to send a text out to my bounty hunter thanking her for venue and for looking out for me. It was nice to know that I was protected, even when away from the men I was now put in charge of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked this chapter! Please let me know what you thought!


	9. How Not to Flounder Without Your General

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Master Kenobi and Knight Skywalker are out chasing after Count Dooku, Nemira is left behind with Commander Cody to hold everything in place. There might also be some slight hazing and a pile of paper work for her to sift through as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Hondo, and the capturing Dooku arc is one of my all time favorites. But I also understand why the padawans were left behind, and I respect that decision. I even agree with it. Nemira would probably die at the moment against any of the lightsaber wielders of the CIS. So no Dooku, Ventress, or Grievous on the venue for now.   
> You have to crawl before you can walk!   
> Still, this might be a tad boring, but I think it shows perfectly well how her relationship with the 212th is growing. And that is important to me as it is a huge piece of how she is going to grow as a character later on.

So, I guess now would be a good time to explain a bit about what parts of the GAR was controlled by my Master and what wasn’t. Or just how things were organized in general I guess. Obi-Wan Kenobi was the High General of the GAR. He was in charge of the 212th and had two other battalions and a couple of Legions as well that reported to him first along with Admiral Yularen. He was also in charge of the 7th Sky Corps. Or well, the battalions and legions that I mentioned made up the 7th Sky Corps. It was a little confusing for me, alright? The temple didn't actually teach us much about how a military was organized. 

Anyway, the 501st led by the General Anakin Skywalker was a Legion that worked under us as well. It was why we ended up working with him and Ahsoka so much as we were usually stationed fairly close to each other. In larger battles we all fought together. It was only when we had differing assignments, something that happened more than I would have thought, that we were separated into our own individual groups.

Sometimes we were then also separated even further that that as well. Then Ghost Company was the smaller group that was always with Obi-Wan. The equivalent of that with Skywalker was Torrent Company. Though we were mostly a ground assault unit, we did have a small contingency of pilots when needed to try their hands at dogfights and a different group to land the cruisers.

I say this because there were actually a lot of instances where Obi-Wan and Anakin left both companies and us padawans seemed to be left in charge. Usually it happened when Ahsoka and I were having class at the temple. Though we were in the middle of a war, we still needed to learn all we could of the ways of the Jedi. That would usually leave Commander Cody and Commander Appo in charge. Though more often than not it was actually Captain Rex that ran things for some unknown reason. It was another thing that I didn't completely understand. I think it might be because Commander Appo was usually somewhere else with most of the legion and Torrent took over when he was gone. Or something like that. 

This time, this time they were trying to capture Count Dooku. Skywalker had been captured already and Master Kenobi was going to go and rescue him. But instead of taking the 212th as back up along with me, they were taking the 501st with Ahsoka in the lead.

That was interesting as a Legion was a lot bigger than a Battalion, but the 212th was considered the best of the best. Yes, the 501st had the numbers on their side, but the 212th was trained harder and all of them were somewhat specialized. Not that it mattered in this case. 

Commander Cody and I were left behind. And in all technicalities, with how many promotions that Master Obi-Wan had forced on the poor clone, he almost outranked me. It was like we had shared custody over 212th. It was actually somewhat adorable as they looked to Commander Cody first before making sure that I was alright with it as well. Cody's full title was Martial Commander. Mine was still just Commander, but because of my status as a Padawan, it made it so that I was the highest ranking commander under the High General. And considering he was the only High General with a padawan, I was technically the highest ranked commander in the army. Jut the thought of all that responsibility was wild! And it took me a week to figure that out! Me, a twelve year old. It was insane. 

The good news was that for the time being we were actually connected to Master Mundi’s command. So I didn’t have to make any executive decisions if we were pulled into a battle. For the most part anyway. I was actually not sure what it was that I was supposed to be doing. But Master Kenobi had been kind enough to give me a stack of data pads to go through and fill out. I think it was hazing, but at the same time I wouldn’t be surprised if they were actually important for some reason.

At the moment I was about to go over them as I was on the bridge for a shift. Apparently even when nothing was going on and I wasn’t in the middle of Jedi business, someone of rank still had to stand over everything and supervise. It was boring, but I understood that I had to do it as if something happened that needed someone to respond by giving orders. But that didn't mean that I couldn't be a little social at the same time. 

“So, how do you think the General will do?” Scrambler asked out of the blue. He was the nice clone who worked communications at the moment. He was also the one helping me with the EMP mini gun I was making.

I hummed slightly as I made my awareness open. My nose crinkled slightly and I didn’t know it at the time, but rumors of my visions or premonitions had been passed around and they were all watching to see what I was about to say. It wasn’t so much that I saw things as I just knew things to say. Not to mention I had foreknowledge from Nichole still. Though I wasn’t going to bank on it and it would be a couple years until that was relevant again. If it was ever relevant again. 

“Ah, he’ll be fine. They’ll chase Dooku, probably get into a fight with a gundark, and maybe some pirates, but Master Obi-Wan will be fine. You know how he is; he’ll be back in no time.” I said at last. It was a strange thing to say, but that was all I got. So I shrugged not taking in the nervous looks that the clones were giving each other and the nervousness that caused Commander Cody to stiffen.

But then I was reading the first pad and sighing in annoyance. “Just a side note, in about three hours I’m going to be performing a spot inspection on the barracks. Keep in mind that I am a girl, and there are things that I don’t want to see.” I said out loud.

“Sir, the point of a spot inspection is not to tell everyone that you are performing one.” Cody sighed as tension melted off of him to be replaced with exasperation.

I gave an unapologetic shrug. “But I don’t want to report anything off. And personally, like I said before, I don’t want to see certain things that I am sure are probably in plain view right now. So I give you fair warning and three hours to get it all ready for me.” I said serenely.

“I’ll send word.” Scrambler said playfully.

I shot him a smile as I responded “Much appreciated.” Then I shuffled that particular data pad to the bottom of my pile and picked up my next one. I ignored the resigned sound that came from behind me as I did. Working with Jedi seemed to teach clones when to pick their battles with our stubbornness. 

The next item on my list was food inventory. That I wasn’t going to be able to do while on the bridge. So I grabbed the pad under it. But seriously, why was this my job? I thought that perhaps those who worked in the mess would keep a running catalogue of what they had and report it to somewhere at the end of the week or something. That seemed more efficient.

Whatever, I’d ask when I got down there after this sift.

Next were order forms. Apparently, there was a chain of command to these as well and I had to check over them before sending them off. This wasn’t that bad. I had gone over enough of these with Master Kenobi to know that I was going to be shoved them later on. So I knew what numbers looked about right and which didn’t. Or even when to add some more to it.

For instance I didn’t like the low number of bandages that we were requesting. It just didn’t look right, so I might have bolstered the number a bit. It was important. But at the same time there was an extra 0 added to the kilos of coolant that we needed. So I made sure to fix that up as well. Then there was a prank request mixed in that I simply discarded on principle without even thinking to talk to the one who turned it in about protocol and what was appropriate or not.

Not giving it any attention meant that there was no pay off for the perpetrator. Oh, and I didn’t want to know who had filled it out either. Plausible deniability and all of that. Or maybe the saying I was looking for was ignorance is bliss.

Shuffling that into my complete pile I had to go over duty rosters. I didn’t know why I had to do this when they were made by Cody. If Commander Cody thought these were good then I wasn’t about to argue with him. He knew these men better than I did. That being said, I made sure to look them over anyway in case I was the one who had to make them at some point in the future. And that was also when I was even more sure that this pile of paper work was completely hazing. There was no need for me to deal with half of this, but I was going to do it without complaint and with a smile to hopefully guilt trip someone with it when I was done. 

Next up was the report from the last skirmish that we had been a part of. I had all of the reported stats and all of that good stuff. I just had to string them together so that anyone who read it would also be aware of what had happened.

It had been a while since the whole Nar’Shadda visit. We had been in many scrapes and tumbles since then as there was a mad hunt for Dooku as he was apparently in plain view half the time in the past few weeks. Master Kenobi was one of the stronger fighters and had a history with the man, so they had sent him and his entourage to go find the count.

And he had left before he had made his own report. This was defiantly not supposed to be my job. I glared at the data pad as I started to fill it out using an old one filled out by Captain Rex of the 501st as a template. I did not want to get this wrong or be unprofessional.

“Sir,” a voice called, and I looked up blinking a few times. It seemed that I had gotten very distracted in my work. “Your shift ended ten minutes ago.” The man said. I recognized him as one of the other Captains of this unit, but I couldn’t tell the name yet.

“Oh, my bad. Thank you Captain.” I said as I got up from where I was sitting and stretched out my back. It was only slightly alarming when a series of pops sounded as I did so. The position I had been in had not been the most comfortable. The chairs were not made with consideration to humanoid spines in mind. 

I guessed that meant it was time to stop in the mess hall before going to look at the barracks. To my utter relief they really did keep a running inventory down there and they just gave me the numbers as I ate my lunch. My lunch that I shared with the others clones on break.

I tried really hard not to scrunch my nose up at my rations, but it was hard. It should have been a little better than theirs as mine was tailored to my species that needed more protein. I mean, a snack ration was this white cube thing that tasted slightly sweet and was good for someone who was feeling faint. If that made any sense. It was weird, alright? Space food and tailored pastes and all around depressing food. 

It was only after all of that I was able to convince myself to face the sleeping quarters. My own were pristine and didn’t look like anyone lived in them at all. I didn’t have many possessions that I didn’t keep on me at all times besides the changes in clothes and that kind of thing. And I was on and off the ship randomly so I figured that it was fine for me to live out of my bag. So literally there was nothing outside of it and anything that I did take out was put back in short order.

Everything that the men had were replaceable too I guess. We were expected to be able to move on at a moment’s notice. There was no telling when a ship was about to blow up after all, and it happened more than we would have liked. Heck, I only had the spare set of Lady Nexu garb anyway as I had a few of them made for me in case they were lost or destroyed that I kept back at the temple.

That did not mean that the living quarters stayed pristine. It was actually quite the opposite. Small like things that they would pick up would be scattered around, and even more consumable goods would be there as well. I also did not want to know about any holovids that could be a thing.

It was sad once I realized that and had walked into them to make sure that they passed muster. I realized that they didn’t have a home. A place to have things that would never go away or be taken. A place to return to. They had bases and flag ships and stations. But they had no home. I suppose that they had Brothers to return to, but that was it. And even then sometimes they lost most of those as well.

I was so startled by that train of thought that I actually had to put the data pads down and sit for a second. There was no one down around me, so I could take the moment to lose decorum. I would fix this. I would make a place for them to call home.

It was now one of my goals. I would save as many of them as I could, and I would find them a home. Even if I had to carve out a place for them with my own two hands. That was a promise I made silently to myself as I finished up with my assigned tasks.

I would like to point out that I got them all done in a day and I never once complained. I deserved a cookie at some point when I was out of space and off of military rations.

###  Interlude: How Waxer and Boil Became Teachers

Waxer and Boil were having a regular day on The Negotiator. Really, they were actually off duty at the moment, their shifts having ended a while ago now. Both had taken to spending free time in the Rec area. Said area only had a few tables and a ratty deck of cards. But sometimes there was a holopad with vids on them and even a few nick nacks that had been grabbed by an off duty vod planet side. It wasn’t much, but it was a place they all could relax and take a load off. 

They both were well aware of the fact that their General was out doing something or another that would put him in danger. But they had been with the 212th for a while now, and it was hard to think that anything could take out their general. He was just that good. Of course, they thought he was the best Jedi, but every battalion thought that they had the best Jedi. It was certainly a good talking point on leave when they all compared Generals.

Relaxed and taking a breather, both of them were surprised when a small head of two-toned hair came peeking around the corner and scanned the area. When her hazel eyes landed on them a smile with a hint of fang showed before she rushed over. Waxer couldn’t help the smile that was creeping up on his face as Boil suppressed a groan.

They had heard about the shenanigans of Padawan Commanders. If they weren’t falling into trouble, they were actively searching for it. That was a fact of life that the clone commanders and their men had shared after a few rounds of drinking at 79's.

“Hey! I was wondering if you two could help me with something?” She asked as soon as she made it to their table, her eyes wide and a slight air of embarrassment around her as they saw a flush creep up her cheeks.

Without bothering to give each other another look Waxer spoke up “Of course, what do you need, sir?”

Boil, meanwhile had said under his breath “This is going to be good.” But both of them knew that there was no saying no to her. Heck, she hadn’t even been with them for long, and yet none of them would be able to say no to that.

He had seen their fearless Commander Cody fold to her whim once. Just that morning, actually, as she was filling out the paper work.

Looking around, the small girl bit her lip as she was making sure that she was far enough from the others as not to be heard. Seeing that, a few of their brothers covered up smiles and moved a bit further, sending the two trapped vode a smirk to show that they were looking forward to seeing what trouble they were about to be dragged into. Clearly, they needed better brothers.

“So, you know that I asked for a small blaster on the last mission, well, the Commander decided to let me keep said blaster. The problem is, I don’t know how to use it.” She admitted at a whisper.

“What?” Boil burst out louder than he meant to. The small Firrerreo was quick to shush him and wave her hands around wildly. Waxer was just staring at her in absolute horror. For someone to not know how to use a blaster was pure nonsense to him.

“I was hoping you two would be up to teaching me,” she admitted quietly, embarrassed at this entire situation.

Waxer snapped out of his stupor then and said sincerely “Of course we will teach you!” His voice was soothing in a way that escaped quite a few people.

“Kriff that!” Boil snarled as he swore, standing suddenly “You are getting your shebs out there now and we will fix this right this very minute!” Of course, later he was going to be so embarrassed and somewhat horrified to have used that language with a Jedi, Padawan or not. Not to mention everyone would be bugging the two of them for details on what actually happened later. 

But for that moment they both maneuvered their tiny commander into a firing range and drummed the use of the blaster into her head. All the while she was happy to take their teaching. At the end of their break period, she was able to hit the targets well enough to make the two clones happy. And if she bribed them to keep this to themselves, well, no one had to know about that either.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And done! I hope that you like it! Please let me know what you thought about it!


	10. How to Learn Politics and Maintain Connections

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Once again Nemira is stuck on Coruscant. But there is a good side to this. She gets to try and understand galactic politics as her contacts in the underworld start making a huge play. What it is, well, she would rather not know. Just in case.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I didn't realize how many of the starting Arcs of the Clone Wars left Ahsoka behind. And I'm taking that as a cue to if Nemira would be coming as well. So next chapter there will be a lot more action!   
> This is also showing the view of a twelve year olds understanding of politics when it involves millions of planets and not just one country. It's all very confusing.   
> And a teaser on what the information network thing is getting into.

As with all padawans who were out in the field now a day, I was on rotation to be learning in the temple for the time being. Master Obi-Wan and his former padawan were going to the system controlled by the Pantorans. Ahsoka was right along with me as we were going through the newest politics class.

Not that I wanted to go with then. They were going to a place called Orto Plutonia (well, I think that was what they called it) where it was always below freezing and most suspected that there was no actual life there. I didn't even know why the Pantorans insisted on having a military base there considering there was literally nothing there to protect. One could technically use it to stage an invasion for the moon of Pantora I suppose. But there was honestly no real tactical reason to do that. The moon of Pantora was only of minor importance as they were rather rich and in the middle of quite a few trade routs that had nothing to do with this particular war. 

So no, I didn't mind being away from this particular mission.

Anyway, it was strange to be back on a planet after living in space for so long. The gravity was heavier, there was a breeze in the air, there was a feel to it that wasn’t as clean or sterile. And we weren’t constantly moving. Usually on a bad day you could only just feel the swaying of the buildings in the wind as it passed by. When in space, there was always the feeling that you were moving, even if it wasn't necessarily a physical thing. Force sensitive individuals could feel it more than most because of the unique feel that the planets and stars gave off in the Force as we passed by. 

Not that it was bad. I understood the need to have us learn here what we weren’t learning out there. Jedi were peace keepers and negotiators. With war going on, it was understood that certain lessons would be hard to come by naturally and that we needed to learn them anyway.

So we were learning about how the Senate was operated. How when a new system was found or developed it would be given a choice of joining or not, provided they had the support of a near by republic system, and why so many systems joined. It also spoke of the individual systems and the Senators from each.

At one point it even pointed out who was sympathetic to the Jedi Order and who were traditionally against them. It also spoke to which ones spoke of peace and more importantly which one acted for peace. It was all very interesting in its own way I suppose. But honestly it was also very tedious and boring.

Because beyond that there were parties within the Senate and how they shifted and in the end it didn’t really matter. Because they could vote as they wanted, and it didn’t matter what they said about it before. So I really just didn’t understand it with all of the explanations coming in and muddling things up. But I suppose that was why I was a Jedi and not a Senator.

Hopefully I would never be a Senator. That was the good thing about being a Jedi. We didn’t do politics besides the negotiating between two sides. And even then we only need to know in that moment the politics of the argument and not the entire history of everything. I was not looking forward to the day when I was forced to deal with that. Because, this war could not last forever, and even with my foreknowledge pointing towards a grim end, I had hopes that we would win anyway. And when that happened, we would be negotiators and peacekeepers once more. It was a good thing, I know that, but it would also be different. 

I guess that for that reason it was going to be important for me to learn it, and I liked that I was learning how my government was run. I know that it wasn’t nearly so convoluted when I was Nichole, and I also knew that though I needed to know it, it was also okay that I didn’t like it. Very few non-politicians actually liked politics. It was a thing. And some who thought they knew it really didn’t.

The good news out of all of this was that I was back on Coruscant and that meant that I was able to check in on my people in the underworld. I had been neglecting them as of late. Not that it was my fault. I had been busy! Being a padawan was a challenge. 

Slipping back into the persona was simple as I stalked the streets and made my way to the lower levels. I was not bothered in my decent. Most of these people were used to seeing me stalking around and going back and forth. I was always careful to make sure I couldn’t be tracked back to the Temple. Well, after the first few times I was. It helped that I usually put on an over cloak and got rid of it in a place I could grab it again when the night was done.

For sentimentality I went right to the original bar that I first started in. It was perhaps my favorite. And as I walked in I noticed one of my runners go to spread the word of where I was. This was tradition, and I couldn’t help the fond little bubble of affection that appeared in my chest. Some things were constant in the shifting tides that had become my life.

I also noticed that I was not alone in here either. The 501st were with the Jedi at the moment, and the 212th was having a bit of a shore leave. Commander Cody had followed me all the way here. At least I knew that he had some credits. Master Obi-Wan had been telling the men to hoard whatever they were given for missions just in case and I might have purposefully lost a few bets so that there were substantially more of them passing in the hands of the clones.

I think they knew that I was losing on purpose at times. Mostly it was on things I didn’t really know about and made wild bets about it anyway. It was just fun. And it made them know that I was not all knowing, even when it looked like I could be. Because a few of those bets that I lost were a surprise to me. And the head medic (still don't know his name) was the book keeper, so no one bothered to argue once he closed a bet. You paid up and complained out of hearing range. 

There were a few bars I knew of that gave all clones their drinks free as a thanks for fighting for the Republic. This place was not as nice. So it was a good thing I had been feeding money into their hands. I also knew for a fact that on landing about half of those credits also changed hands between battalions too.

In any event, I eyed him as he put his back to a corner and started to observe the bar as he drank his drink. I had stopped bothering to pretend to drink the drinks that I had ordered, and as such I put money down and had him give me water. He didn’t care as I was a paying customer. And I could tell he was happy to see me again. He, like so many others, was secretly fond of me.

It only took ten minutes for my familiar bounty hunter to walk into the place and sit down next to me.

With a smile in my voice I greeted “It is good to see you, darling. Has everything been well here?” I did want to know what everyone made of my extended absence. I don’t think that anyone minded it much at all, but getting a report about how things were would ease my mind a great deal. It would convince me that everything would be fine. That I hadn’t failed the people that had put themselves in my care.

“There was a little confusion, but I think it was good that you stopped in Nar’Shadda. Our people there were not sure how you felt about them and were glad to see you. They have grown in number since your visit. Our coffers have also expanded. We held the fort here just fine, as you commanded my lady.” She responded promptly and respectfully. 

I took the time to reach out and stroke her cheek in thanks. “Good. I’m glad that everyone adjusted well to my absence.” I said softly. I wanted to convey my care, because although I had stumbled into this blindly, I still took responsibility for this, for them. I also tried not to think about the coffers she was talking about. Those made me uncomfortable. And I might keep forgetting to tell any authority figures about them. 

“Anything we need to watch out for, my lady?” She asked then. But it was clear that she was soaking up the affection that I was giving.

I hummed slightly as the Force washed over me. “In a month or so I would stay away from the upper levels. Other than that please send word to those who are ours in Ryloth; they will be overrun with battle droids soon. Beware of bombings, even after the clone armies come to free them.” My voice was soft and I knew that it would be difficult for the others to hear me. But this was for her ears only anyway.

She nodded and took out the cellphone that I gave her and wrote the note to send out. A small trill of pride ran through me at that. I know that it probably shouldn’t have, but I was really proud of how far I had gotten her to use the cell. It was bringing back a few fond memories of my life before this.

Of course at that point I had finished the allotted time to be at the bar and went to start a game of saabac. Familiar presences filled the table, and I relaxed into the lull of the game. I should probably really learn all of the rules at some point. After four years and I still only knew a handful of them.

Tonight was a night to lose money it seemed. As they chattered on about all of the gossip that I had missed and giving me subtle updates on how everything was going the credit chips flowed freely from my hands and into theirs. Not that I minded. Winning was not really the point. I was reconnecting with my network and affirming bonds that might have otherwise frayed.

Apparently, the Pykes were feeling the strain now that I was in business, and the Hutts were starting to take notice. But as my people were so wide spread and the people so secretive and protective of me there was no information being leaked to them. I should be fine so long as I didn’t poach from them too much.

I had recommend stashing some spice for the future and I guess that might have been why I was warned of the Pykes. The Hutts were on the warning probably because of my small campaign of freeing slaves. That had been a thing at one point. And I was pretty sure it was still a thing on the down low. It was nice to see they wanted to keep me appraised of the dangers we might be facing. That I might be facing should they ever figure out who I was. 

It was when I was done and serenely listening to the petty quips and jokes that suddenly there was a serious feeling cutting through the calm atmosphere. It was so noticeable that I noticed tension in Cody all the way in his corner. There was going to be an important decision, and I needed to choose correctly. The Force hummed in anticipation around me, as if I was balancing on a tightrope between two of the spires of the Jedi Temple. 

“What is it?” I asked. It broke the sudden hush that had laced the table.

“My Lady, I need permission to use credits from the coffers. A large amount in fact.” My bounty hunter said hesitantly. It was almost as if she was afraid to ask this of me.

Unseen my eyes narrowed as I carefully measured the words that I was about to say. “How much is a good amount?” That question seemed to be the best I would get at the moment. I was thankful that the voice modulator muffled feeling in my voice when it wasn’t obvious.

“Fourteen billion credits.” She replied promptly and strongly. But she also said it in a way that her voice wouldn’t carry.

I leaned back in my chair, posture open and deliberating. Hiding the surprise that rushed through me. That was quite the sum of money. There was no end of things that could be purchased with that amount. But it was also not as big a number as it could have been. Those accounts that they had put under my alias were almost reaching towards the hundred billions. It was a lot of money that I didn’t know what to do with but had anyway. And honestly, I didn’t know what to do with it and most of the time didn’t even touch the stuff except to get credits out for these card games. And bets, and for giving to informants. 

“No specifics, but what abouts is it for.” I finally asked. I wanted plausible deniability. I didn’t want to know if it was something that was breaking the law or something that I didn’t need to know about. But with that much cash on the line, I needed to know something before giving the go ahead.

“It is for a wager, a very lucrative wager my lady.” She answered with confidence.

A wager, a bet, it was gambling. I gambled to pay my people; it was a gamble that made Master Sinube take me down here in the first place. Master Kenobi took a gamble on me when he decided to take me on as a padawan. Everything up to this point had been left to chance. This too was something important that was also left to the strings of chance to decide. And if it worked it would be very good for me in the future. And if I didn’t, I would only lose a good chunk of money that I otherwise wouldn't be using.

“You know not to over spend our needs. Take what you need, and place your wager. May fortune favor the loyal.” I found myself saying. And that last line. It sounded a bit ominous. It sounded important. More important than I knew at that moment, and the Force sang in laughter. It was once again laughing at me. But with those words the tension was cut. 

The bounty hunter sagged in relief before she made her way closer to me and took my hand. She kneeled and pressed her forehead to my hand and breathed “Thank you, my lady. I will not disappoint you.” And this had just turned weird. That was exactly what the Twi’lek had done before.

“I know you won’t.” I said evenly with confidence in my voice. My creeped out factor had gone past critical at this point, but I was very good at hiding it. At least they weren’t kissing my hand. That might have been even weirder. I also took my other hand and forced her head up so that it was looking up and where my eyes would be.

I left not long after that, careful to make sure that I wasn’t leaving too quickly for it to seem like I was feeling pressured or awkward around the people. And I slowed my step just enough to where Commander Cody ended up next to me.

“Commander,” I acknowledged with a grave nod. I also wanted to make sure that he knew that I didn’t mind his presence in the slightest.

“Commander,” he responded in turn with a more militaristic tone to his voice. And there was absolutely no apology in him as well. It caused a surge of amusement to well up in me. I had grown incredibly fond of these men.

“I’m going back to the temple now, I’m sure you would like to spend your free time off with your brothers.” I chuckled as I took off the voice modulator. We were far enough and I didn’t feel anyone else around us. The cloak that I had used was just up ahead as well.

“No offense sir, but I think I’ll see you all the way to the entrance. Someone has to take care of you Jedi. And if I have learned anything from General Kenobi it is that the moment we leave you alone, trouble finds you.” Cody said without the least bit of modesty.

I couldn’t stop my snort. “Then your presence to keep the trouble away is most appreciated.” I told him in all honesty and with an honest smile to my voice and face.

True to his word, he made sure that I was all the way into the temple before he left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you have it!   
> Are there any guesses on what that bet is for? Fair warning, I might sit on the answer for a while. But it is rather important. 
> 
> Thank you all so much for reading!


	11. How Not to End Up on the Bomb Squad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Jedi are going to Naboo. Unfortunately, this is about to be more stressful than any of them figured it would be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright! Something interesting is happening now. Well, it's all interesting, but this is like, real recognizable content and my first time writing almost fights.  
> Bombs, viruses, and craziness aplenty.

It was a while later that we got a new call that needed Jedi help. There was something bad going on at Naboo. An attack with something about a virus was possibly being planned. Master Kenobi was actually requested by the senator to come by because of tense relations with the Gungans.

Ahsoka and I were going to be along for the ride it seemed. Knight Skywalker looked to be really edgy about this assignment. Commander Cody and Captain Rex were both protesting that we Jedi were going down there first. They might come down later if and when we needed help.

I was glad that Skywalker didn’t seem to think much about me. I was worried that there might be a little bit of bitterness or jealousy to be honest. It was common in sibling padawans to feel that way, and he was a very emotional person. But he just kind of acted normal around me. It might have helped that I wasn’t trying to insert myself in anything and I let him and Master Kenobi continue their little quip wars.

Taking a gunship down we were greeted by Captain Typho of the Nabooian guard. I watched silently as Anakin freaked out on everyone that Padme had gone on her own to find the lab. Honestly, he really needed to take a chill pill or three and realize that if he wanted his relationship to stay a secret he needed to keep calm when she was in danger. Or that if he wanted his relationship to be in anyway meaningful he needed to trust that her going into danger didn't necessarily mean that needed a rescue. Even if that was probably the case.

There was a Gungan with him as well, her name was Peppi. And she was apparently the last one to see Padme and Jar Jar as they went to go and find the reason that her animals were dying after drinking from the river. The fact that a virus being weaponized somewhere that was making us all nervous and keeping us on edge. Ahsoka was told to go with Peppi and scout ahead, and Obi-Wan told me to go with her just in case.

“Ever feel like you are being sent away to let the adults talk?” I couldn’t help but ask. I thought it was actually very dangerous for us to have been sent alone to go where two people had disappeared. After all, Padme was no slouch at self-preservation as far as I could see. Or maybe it was that she was a good escape artist. Either way, sending two padawans to a place where people disappeared sounded like asking for trouble instead of investigating it further before hand.

“At least we’re doing something. Last time we were confined to the ship waiting for them to come back.” Ahsoka answered with a shrug. We were out of the hanger now and going to the edge of the city.

I gave her a laugh and flashed a smile. “True enough.” And that was just about that. Of course it wasn’t the end of all talking, but the ice between us had once again been broken. I didn’t like awkward silences and shifting. I would rather be comfortable around the people who were around me.

The Gungan made a noise before saying “I tried to go with them, but did theysa listen? No, theysa tell me to stay. And now wesa got to find them.” I blinked slightly as I made sure I heard it all correctly. The Gungan accent was not helping in that at all.

“Thank you for your help.” I smiled as we reached a shaak that was bridled and ready to ride to where ever it was that we needed to go. The good news was that the animal was big enough that the three of us could ride on it with no problems. And it was trained so that it wouldn't buck us off of it.

Peppi went first to steer the animal, then Ahsoka, and then me. If I had to describe what the shaak looked like I would say it is what a tick would look like if it was a thousand times bigger and was a mammal with only four legs. It was gross and I was pretty sure at some point in the future I was going to have nightmares about giant ticks because of them.

We rode until just about when the sun was starting to set. The yellow light made the shadows lengthen and let the softness of the planet really shine. Naboo was so different from the other planets I was usually on and the space ships that I had been calling home. It was warm in a way that artificial heating and metal walls just couldn’t compare to. And the life, the plants and animals and people all added something to it.

If I had to chose a place to settle down on after everything was said and done, Naboo would be in the top ten of my choices. I could see why such a powerful senator would come from a place like this. When you live in such a beautiful place, it is easier to see the injustice happening to places with less fortune. I bet that a large part of it was the wakeup call that she had gotten on Tatooine.

Of course that was also all speculation based off of the foreknowledge that I had from Nichole. It could be that my perspective was heavily flawed or skewed in some way. But it would make sense in a way if that was the case. I couldn't really see any other reasons that she would have to be so opinionated on the subjects she was. Not when her people were not suffering nearly as much as others were. Heck, Naboo didn't even have a standing military, only a volunteer guard. That was how peaceful this place usually was.

“The ship is belonging to them.” Peppi said as she steered the animal next to this strange white and yellow craft. It was really not pretty and I couldn’t understand its design at all.

“So where are they?” Ahsoka asked as we all carefully looked around. We all got off the shaak and look to the mud. “Their tracks end here.” The togruta continued.

I sighed as I carefully squatted. The mud didn’t look like it had been swept to hide anything that I could see, and there were no vines to somehow pick them up from the ground and put them in the trees. Unless somehow there was a way that I just wasn’t seeing.

Then suddenly there was a mechanical noise and Peppi was raised a foot above the ground. Us two padawans quickly noticed that it was a scope and carefully kept out of its sight, Ahsoka giving the Gungan warning as she was on one side and I was on the other. I reached a large root first and leapt over it to keep hidden, and she tackled Peppi so that they were there as well.

“Yeah, I’d say that something fishy is going on.” I found myself saying rhetorically as we watched the scope disappear back down into the mud. We took the time to do a few scans of our own, and the results were not good for us. Good thing that the shaak was keeping us from being detected just yet. It was tripping something, but it was also an easy explanation to whatever was keeping track of the cameras as they didn’t see us.

“I’ll call it in.” Ahsoka volunteered. She took out her holocorder and dialed, once she knew that she would be heard she called out “Master, are you there?”

“Did you find her?” Came the reply without questioning the status of us or even where we were. Rude. But I guess that he was worried.

“Negative, I’m pretty sure she’s inside the lab. The whole area is wired with pressure sensors. There’s no way to get in without being detected. But I’m more than happy to-” she was saying only to be cut off by my master.

In an urgent voice he said clearly “Do not attempt to get inside.” A tone came from the disk and suddenly there were schematics for the lab floating above it. “I need you to detonate a bunker bomb at the south end of the facility. It should cause a nice distraction and seal off the bomb area while we come in through the hatches.”

That did not sound promising, but taking it for what it was I replied “You can count on us Masters.” And I meant it too. It sounded like a horrible plan, but it was a plan and I guessed that there was probably more to it than I was being told. Not to mention the fact that they somehow had plans for the bunker meant that our leaving to go look at where the senator had vanished from had been completely useless. It really felt like they had just sent us away for no reason. But I buried the feeling and moved on to see what our next assignment would be.

“Rex and his men will be right behind you, Snips. He’ll have both your backs.” Anakin said in reassurance before signing off.

Both of is looked at each other before I sighed and handed her the detonator. I happened to be the one with the bag of droid poppers and detonators. It seemed like a good idea at the time and something had told be to grab them. As the plan was formulated night fell, and Ahsoka used the Force to lift the bomb to where we needed it.

Dodging around the cameras, she was careful with the placement before finally setting it off. Almost right away the gunships came overhead as we were ready to go. Only it seemed that so was Peppi as she called out “Mesa come too!”

I left Ahsoka to dissuade her as I ran to the breach that we had created. There were already troopers descending into the hole as I came in and ignited my blue lightsaber. Right in time too as there were bolts to deflect and cover to give to those coming in. We were the distraction, and we would do it well. It only took a few seconds for Ahsoka to join me, her green lightsaber buzzing alongside my own.

Trembling in the ground told me that the other bombs were being dropped to make an opening for the older Jedi. I took note even as I ignored it and kept up the cover for the clones and Ahsoka took the offensive to deactivate them as quickly as she could. That stopped when the destroyers deployed with their little shields. We backed up as to not be in the way.

The tight quarters for fighting and trying to keep the bolts away from the men and not clash with Ahsoka’s own strikes was getting really old really fast. It was not easy and it was not fun. This was dangerous as I also needed to be careful not to accidentally dodge into friendly fire as well.

“I can’t keep holding them!” Ahsoka said through gritted teeth as we were starting to get pushed back, and I understood that as well.

“You won’t have to!” I replied just as strained. And sure enough we watched as the roof of the tunnel caved in and Master Kenobi stood where they once were.

And of course he decided to be the king of snark and asked “Need some help?” I laughed slightly as a few of the men I recognized as being the Bomb Squad came through behind him.

Ahsoka let out a sigh, “So good to see you, Master Kenobi.”

“Your timing was impeccable.” I added with a smile of my own as I turned to take stock of the troopers behind me. There were only six, we had lost a couple, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as it could have been all things considered.

“Keep going to find the senator and Anakin. We will be going for the bombs.” Master Kenobi said seriously before he led his crew one way and motioned for us to go the other way. I gave a curt nod and we started to run again.

As we were running our comms when off. “Padawans, we’ve got another situation.” The voice of Skywalker sounded concerned. “Send all the clones to search the facility, we’ve got a mis—” the voice cut off as we rounded a corner and came face to face with him and the clones that he was with.

“Master,” Ahsoka said surprised as we stopped just in time to avoid a collision. I also noted that the senator was there as well. That was good.

Not wasting any time Anakin said “We’ve got a missing bomb and a trigger happy mad doctor on the loose.” Oh, that was the situation.

“Missing bomb?” The senator asked. “I saw doctor Vindi give a little droid a bomb.” And that would have probably been helpful to know before this.

Coming to a decision, the Jedi Knight said “You guys split up. Find that droid.” He ordered. Then he motioned to get moving again. Leaving behind the senator and representative Binks.

“You heard him,” Ahsoka said as she started to run, “let’s move.” And they were leaving the people that we came to help get to safety alone while still in the bunker. Really? Shouldn’t they have sent them outside the bunker first?

“Senator, Representative, do you need me to escort you out of this bunker?” I asked formally as I snagged one of the clone troopers and forced him to stay with me. I wasn’t even sure who this one was, but I needed to make sure that I had back up in getting them out of here.

“But we could help look for the droid!” The strong willed woman said with conviction.

I sighed as I started to direct her and the other one away from where the other two teams had run. “We can look for it as we get you out. After all, it should be on its way out if it wants to do its masters bidding. He wants to infect the world with the virus, and that can’t happen if it is still in here. It might have gotten over looked as we got to here.” I compromised.

She looked disgruntled but she agreed with me and the four of us were running again. I sent an apologetic look to the clone I had taken command of, but I don’t think that he really minded. Our mission objectives were to stop the bombs, catch the doctor, and save the senator and representative. This was just following orders I supposed.

But as we were running the Gungan suddenly stopped and sniffed before going into a room filled with plants. And of course Amidala followed him in there as well. My danger sense was shouting at me as I forced myself to follow them as well.

“Please, we need to get you guys out of here!” I said with a slight urgency to my tone. But then I watched as Padme crouched down and said something to something under the table.

“You have got to be kidding me,” I muttered as I brought up my own comm. and called out “We found the bomb!” Then the thing made a run for it, but the clone trooper and I wrangled it just enough to get the bomb away from it before it went running after getting loose with a flail that landed just hard enough to tip the armored man over. I didn’t bother with it as I had the bomb and the bomb was beeping.

“Stay there! I’ll get the bomb squad.” Ahsoka replied. And I couldn’t help but groan a little bit. They were leaving me standing here with a ticking bomb that could kill us all. This was not good, and this was not safe. And I could have really liked it if someone would have just told me how to turn the thing off.

At least they were quick to come to us. Within seconds Rex and Ahsoka were there with two of the members of the bomb squad who had to have had the steadiest hands in the galaxy as they clipped a couple of the exposed wires and stopped the ticking of the bomb. We were saved. And now I could breathe.

Jar Jar fainted just as Ahsoka was talking to her master and I leaned against one of the tables containing the plants. The bombs were taken care of, the doctor had been found, and Padme was in our custody. I’d say that the mission was a complete success. And as soon as I got down from the adrenaline high I was going to crash and sleep for the rest of the day. Because it was already early morning and I had been up for far too long.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there it is! As always, please let me know what you think!


	12. How to Keep Going for as Long as You Can

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The bunker is secure, the bombs have been disabled. So, of course, something was bound to go wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know, this is a dramatic chapter. It might be even more dramatic if I didn't have it advertised that this is only just over a fourth of the way through this work.   
> But drama is drama. And something horrible was bound to happen eventually. So here it is. I hope you all like it!

I had hoped that would be the end of our time on Naboo. Nothing against the planet or whatever, I was just coming down from the wild ride of holding a bomb. But now that those were taken care of, it was time for work to be done. Obi-Wan and Anakin both rushed the Doctor into a transport to take to Thead while us padawans were left to do clean up with the clones and the senator. Because even as I thought we should get her out of here, no one else seemed to have the same feeling about it that I had. It was just lovely. Please note the sarcasm. And now that I was winding down, I couldn’t help but feel as if something was off as I went around with Ahsoka.

Sure enough, the alarm went on as we were there and over my comm. link I heard Padme say “The virus from the bomb is missing. The droid must have taken it. You have to find it.”

I gulped and looked at Ahsoka who looked just as nervous as I did. The clones around us weren’t doing so hot either. “That is not good.” I said obviously as I carefully started to scan the halls we were walking. I had been a bit too preoccupied at the time with getting the bomb disabled to look to see if all of the components were there. The fact that I had missed that was not good for my stress levels. And no soon had I thought that then something happened. 

There was an explosion. As in something had rearmed one of the bombs. If they had done so in the bomb room, then every single one would be off and there was enough of the virus to kill billions of people being pumped through the air at this very moment. Even if they had taken the virus capsules out of all of the bombs, that doctor had eluded that a single bomb was meant to wipe out a single system. That sometimes included multiple populated planets.

The alarms changed tone and Rex announced “Virus leak. Get into the safe room. Come on!” And just like that we started to sprint. Looking back I could see the blue fog coming towards us as I heard the doors begin to slam shut around us. The breaches in the bunker from the bombs had already been sealed off via this method, thankfully, but we were in the main hallway and not in one of the safe rooms. It was a race against time, and a race for our lives. My heart rate and adrenaline both shot up to uncomfortable levels.

And in front of us at the end of the hall was the safe room. We weren’t going to make it, the doors were already closing. We had ten or fifteen more feet to go and it was starting to close and Ahsoka was slowing down a head of me. I had a feeling that I knew what she was going to do, and that it was not going to be a good idea at all. Right then and there I knew that I had to do something.

I couldn’t answer what I was thinking at that moment. I couldn’t tell you why I did it. But I was not going to let them get contaminated. Not thinking at all I stopped abruptly and pushed both hands out in front of me as I reached for the Force. It propelled the group forward and forced them into the door and they were too far away to slow it down as it slammed shut with me alone on the outside.

I didn’t breathe for a moment as I looked in horror at the one room that was to be my salvation. Blue covered my vision and the gas swirled around me. But this was my reality and I calmly breathed in. There was no different feeling to the gas as it entered my lungs along with the stale air of the bunker. It just was. I had just doomed myself. I really had just done that.

A tear slipped from my eye without me noticing until it was half way down my cheek. But then I forced myself to pull myself together. It was too late for me, but not for them. I could not break down right then and there, I needed to keep it together. Even as I felt as if I was choking back hysteria. 

Along the comm. I heard Skywalker ask “Ahsoka, what is going on down there?”

“The droid released the virus. But we managed to seal the lab.” She said in a tone that sounded both urgent and subdued. I breathed in shakily and out again.

“And Padme?” I heard him ask.

“Haven’t heard from her since the bomb. But Firrerreo, she Force pushed us into the safe room before the door closed. She didn’t make it in. She’s out there with the virus.” She replied sounded a bit lost but also a bit determined. I feared what she might do. She was a little bit reckless.

Then I heard the senator say “Anakin, can you hear me, Anakin?” She was apparently safe in a safety chamber of her own and had protective suits. That was good, that meant that they would be safe. And then she remembered that there might be remaining droids that would try to break out. She seemed set on going after them.

There, that would be a good distraction. I could hold myself together for that. “I’m already infected. I’ll go hunting for them. I won’t let anyone else get infected.” I said heavily. I couldn’t hide the bit of emotion that was clogging my throat as I said it.

“We will try and find a way to cure you, I promise. And a way to free everyone while we are at it.” Master Obi-Wan said softly. But there was a chance that there was no saving me; there was a chance that I was about to die. And even then, there were limited rations with the clones. They might last a week in the safe room. But no more than that. The Senator and Representative had less time. Not that I was going to mention that. 

So I said instead “Good thing it’s only me. Firrerreo are rather hearty a race. We heal really fast. That should buy you some time. I won’t die as quickly.” Once it was out of my mouth I regretted it. But I was on the move looking for the hatches where the droids might go to get out.

Senator Amidala was looking for me. I told her where Ahsoka was with the troopers, but they were safe, and not contaminated. So the doors were going to be kept shut. I found the droids fairly easily and went to destroying them. Or, I should say that a few passed me as I waited to rendezvous with the senator.

“I am so sorry,” She said as she got closer to me and put her hand on my shoulder.

I shook my head “Don’t worry about it Senator. I’ll be alright. Now let’s go get those droids. We have to work quickly. Do you have a weapon?” I asked her.

“A small one.” She answered as she took out the small blaster. It wouldn’t do much, it could kill a droid, but it would still be difficult if that was all she had.

Making the decision I picked up one of the blasters of the droids I had sliced and handed it to her. “Let’s go. We have to be quick.” I said to her with determination in my eyes. I think that the only thing that showed how afraid I really was feeling was the silver pallor that my normally golden skin had turned to.

The first hatch wasn’t far, I used the Force to get the droids to move away from the ladder and then we went crazy. I was more aggressive than I had ever been in the past. And it showed as a bolt skinned my arm. It burned slightly but I ignored it. The slight burn would be gone within fifteen minutes as it was, and I didn’t want to worry anyone more than I probably already was.

It was nice that there were no destroyers here. With them out of the way, we stalked to the next exit point. Only, I spoke too soon. Half way there and two destroyers came rolling down the hall at break neck speeds. We did not have time for this. That was probably why they had been sent.

Taking inspiration from what I saw Ahsoka do when we first entered, I bounced off the walls and towards them. Once there I landed on top of their shields and carefully forced my lightsaber through them before igniting it. It sliced through the brown toned metal easily and dropped the first one in little time. But I wasn’t quick enough on the second one.

Somehow Jar Jar ended up with a blaster and in a vain attempt to help shot at the second destroyer. The shot bounced off and grazed the senator’s suit. Quick as I could I dispatched the other one and raced over to her. But it was too late.

“Senator, I’m so sorry!” I said as I watched her take off her helmet. She was now breathing in the blue tinted air as well.

“It’s okay. These things tend to happen in a war zone.” She replied, and her voice was still calm and collected. It was almost as if she had expected this to happen.

I commed Ahsoka quickly to keep her in the loop. “The Senator’s suit was breached. Destroyers were deployed. A blaster bolt bounced off of one of the shields.” I said resigned.

“We can help!” She started to say.

I cut her off right there. “Absolutely not! We already have two of us infected! We don’t need more. I… please Ahsoka, don’t let what I did for you guys be in vain. I got you to safety, please, stay there.” We were still moving even as I was pleading with the other padawan.

“You got us to safety and have bought us time. But Masters Skywalker and Kenobi are finding a cure, and we will not just sit here and wait for you to be finished! We can and will fight as well!” She rebutted and I found that I didn’t have anything that I could say to that.

So instead I decided to make sure that it was a consensus and not just her being determined. “Captain, what do your men think about this?” I addressed Rex. They were his brothers, and he would decide if it was worth it or not. Maybe in keeping them safe for this long I had bought them enough time to survive this. If they were so determined to come out anyway.

“We know what is at stake, Commander. Our duty is to protect the Republic, and all of her citizens. We can’t exactly do that trapped here. With all due respect, this was what we were born to do.” He replied promptly.

I guess that I had to respect his wishes. “Then Ahsoka, if you are all in agreement cut yourselves out. You have your lightsaber and you can rush to the next door. If we can, we can regroup after that.” I gave in.

“Right!” She responded quickly. And just in time as we were at the next hatch. This hatch seemed as if it was just about to be breached as well.

There were two droids on the ladder and nothing more. A few swings and a pull of the force and they were taken care of. But right after the coughs finally started. It seemed that my leeway for this virus had been reached.

It felt honestly horrible. There was dryness to my eyes as my temperature was higher than it should have been. My lungs felt restricted and were starting to ache. Vein like lines of blue were only just starting to appear on my extremities. I wasn’t feeling completely weak yet, but I had a feeling that it was only a matter of time.

“Let’s go,” I said. We made it to the other hatch just as Ahsoka and Rex took out the rest of the droids. At this point the Senator had already started to cough as well. It seemed I was right when I said that I would be slower to die because of it.

“We need to send the message to Anakin and Obi-Wan. They need to know that the place is clear. And they can’t open the bunker again.” Amidala said with conviction.

I shook my head. “They know not to open it, but they are looking for a cure right now. They won’t open this place up without first having a neutralizing agent to get rid of the virus. We call them and say that it won’t be spreading. But don’t make them promise something that will make them lose hope.” I said strongly.

“Alright,” Ahsoka answered, and then she and Padme walked off a little ways to make the call.

I meanwhile took a seat on a box and cradled my head in my hands. With them all newly exposed, I was still the one who didn’t look like I was on death’s door. Well, besides being very pale at the moment I guess. And the blue tinge.

“Kid, you did what you could. It was our choice to come out.” Rex said as he took a seat next to me.

I gave him a small smile. “I know. I just wish that I could have done more. I guess I always will.” I said to him truthfully. Then I opened myself up to the force and added “But we aren’t going to die here. I know that much. Some would have if I hadn’t have forced you into the safe room, but for now we will make it in time for them to come back.”

And just saying that had relief coursing through me. I wasn’t going to die in this creepy place surrounded by blue gas and red lights. I would get back up and fight another day. All I had to do until that was ignore the fact that Senator Amidala was acting like a defeatist.

But there was another thing that I needed to assure the Captain and his men. And luckily they were all close enough to listen as well. “You said that you were made for this, but you are worth more than how many droids you can destroy. You were not made to die, Captain, you were made to offer hope where there might not be some. You are amazing, and so are all of your brothers. Don’t forget that.” I said to him with conviction.

“Thank you, sir.” I replied with a crooked smile. I suppose that it was rather forward of me to say, but I wanted to make sure that at the very least they meant more than flesh droids to me. With that done we settled down to get comfortable in our waiting.

At least the room we ended up in wasn’t all that bad. It had water to drink at the very least to keep us hydrated. That might be a good way of staving off the virus. The only thing that was missing would be the rations. There was no edible food in this place. I don’t know what species the doctor was, but his food was something that I wasn’t about to call food.

We waited there for a few more hours. I wished that there was a deck of cards or something to help with boredom. There only panic that we got into was when Padme got too weak to stand had had to prop herself up on the wall. She wasn’t doing so hot. But there was no way that she could die right now. At least, I really hoped that there wasn’t. I remembered her death from the movies. I hadn't thought anything would change that. 

And I was right. My Master and his former padawan came in time. And they had a cure. When they finally came they flushed the place with a white mist and then opened it up. We were all then strapped to stretchers and glided out. Master Obi-Wan was hovering over me when I got out, and it was a relief to see him.

“I heard you did good down there.” He started off as he placed a hand on my shoulder. “I am proud of how you handled yourself and how selfless you were, but please do try not to be in a life or death situation next time.”

“I’ll try, but I will make no promises.” I laughed lightly, the relief making it so that I was starting to droop into unconsciousness as I was loaded onto the shuttle.

…

Back on the Negotiator I had a few visitors. They actually came in a pack. Waxer, Boil, Trapper, Wooley, and Setter were all talking to me when Commander Cody walked through the doors. I supposed that he had just finished making sure that my master really was as fine as he said he was.

But these six, they were the clones I was closest to. They were who I trusted my life to easily every day that I was with them. And I wanted to let them know. So after Cody was sure that I was okay and started to walk out, I called out, making him pause as I said “Guys, my name is Nemira. You all can call me that when it’s just us. I trust you.”

It was the truth, and it was something that I meant from the bottom of my heart. I had almost died in that bunker. Though my death could have potentially saved millions of people, I didn’t want to be in a situation like that again.

Not life or death, but slowly dying without having done something to save those closest to me. And more than that, I wanted them to know that I valued them. That just as they were showing concern for almost losing me, I would have been devastated if our roles were reversed and I was losing them instead.

I think the message got through as I was subjected to three hugs, a hand running through my hair, and a pat on my shoulder. Drifting off to sleep, I couldn’t help but wonder what my next adventure would be. I hoped that it was nothing like this one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there we go. Our first real brush with death and all that it entails.   
> Nemira doesn't really know all that she is doing right now, but she is trying. Even when it stresses her out to near panic attacks and wanting to bash other peoples heads against the wall.   
> Please let me know what you all thought about it!


	13. How to Retake a Planet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It is time for the first real full scale campaign with the 212th! And of course it will be in Ryloth!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright! Rant time. Because I can!  
> First off, I traveled to a new state. That was awesome.  
> What was not awesome was that I currently live in a masked state that is doing really well with the quarantine. And now I am in one of the states that are not in quarantine. We came to help one of my relatives with cancer. In a couple days she will be facing her last radiology session and that will be the second time she will be cancer free! But about a fourth of the people are not adhering to social distancing and mask wearing and it is driving me crazy! Like, I didn't think I was a freak about it, I do the minimum required of me, but being surrounded by people who aren't is getting me nervous. And my relative is not being smart about it either and considering that our cousin who lives in the same city just tested positive for COVID, I think I have a right to be concerned.  
> Anyway, sorry about that. Thank you all for reading and without further ranting, here is the next chapter!

We were all healed and had only just gotten back to the swing of things when the senate had new orders for us. Ryloth had been taken. I knew that it was going to happen. A lot of people knew that it was going to happen. We had lost a lot of troops and a Jedi Master in the siege. But until there was a petition to the senate for help, and all of the bureaucratic nonsense was finished with, there was nothing that we could have done.

I was with my Master and Master Windu as we were coordinating the ground assault. Anakin and Ahsoka were both already there fighting to get control of the space above the planet. We needed to blockade gone before we could deploy ground troops.

From what I could tell of the plan, Skywalker was to break up the blockade, and then we, meaning the 212th, were to go down and clear the landing platform. Then after that Master Windu would be taking over as the invaders, clearing out the droid armies and heading to the capital while we made sure that the rest of the planet was also safe. So we would take one hemisphere and he would take the other. But it was his job to make sure that the capital and the separatist leader were secured by us.

I was down in the hanger getting the ships ready with the rest of the men. I didn’t think that I would be much help on the bridge, and I didn’t want to be in the way. Not to mention I was nervous about how this would go as well. Of course that meant that I was piling guns onto racks and checking the packs to make sure that they had everything they needed. Even restocking the first aid kits that were in each of them.

This was a liberation effort. I could just guess that the people down there would not be in good condition. I wanted everyone to be ready for anything that we encountered down there. And this was honestly the only way I could think of to help. I was going over everything a third time when I was given the signal that we were about to start out ground assault. And people began to pile into the transports.

I went onto the gunship that had Cody, Waxer, and Boil, and a place open for Obi-Wan as he was talking to Master Windu about where to strike. The city of Na’vat seemed to be the aim and we were to clear a staging area there if we could.

As the gunships took flight, Master Kenobi started his speech. “We need to remember why we are here. We came to aid the Twi’leks, not to destroy their home.” Then he turned and prompted “Cody,” for the Commander to take over the briefing.

“That means we will be taking it back the hard way,” He started, “minimal destruction with blasters and droid poppers _only_. No rockets or detonators. Check your aim. Keep an eye out for the locals. Am I understood?”

As he finished all of the clones straightened and called out “Sir yes sir!” It never got less jarring to see them do that. But I guess that was military training for you.

I centered myself further in the Force as I prepared for this. Yes I had been in the strike team for the blue shadow virus incident and the raid on Nassore, but this was different. This was going to be a true war zone and I was nervous. As if to accentuate my nerves there were a few explosions in the air around us as the opposition fired on us.

A hologram of Master Windu appeared and he said “We can’t risk landing our larger transports until you take out those guns!” That was not reassuring. Apparently the cannons could get through the shields of the flagships.

“Pull back,” Master Obi-Wan responded, “we’ll take care of it.” I could help he sinking feeling that things just got even more complicated. I actually also had the small blaster clasped to my thigh. It was not a weapon that I had been trained in as a youngling, even after Waxer and Boil had taught me the basics, but it was a ranged weapon, and I thought that there might be a time when I needed something like that. I wanted to be prepared.

The flying got harsher and I braced myself as the doors flew open and they came in for landing. Under us there were creatures scavenging and clear signs that the planet had been though a lot recently. With the cloud cover and dark hues of the trees it was all very foreboding. We exited the gun ships at a run and I brought my lightsaber to my hand ready to ignite it should I need to.

As we got slower blaster fire was initiated and streaks of death bringing red rushed past us. I activated my saber and deflected any that came close to me forward as there was no one in front of me to be protected. We also used the dark and near lifeless trees as cover as they swept their machine guns in lines to try and get to us. Already this was very different to anything I had been a part of before. But I stayed close to Master Kenobi as I was sure he would tell me where I needed to go.

“That bunker is gunna be a problem General!” Commander Cody called out as he took shelter with our backs against the trees for a moment to catch our bearings. It was nothing new, but I think he was more asking what the plan was then just stating the obvious.

With a confident voice Obi-Wan called back “Leave the bunker to me, bring in your troops on my signal.”

Then we carefully advanced to a rock formation as one of the clones got the droid poppers ready and Cody gave cover fire. I took the time to cover a different formation of troops from blaster fire as I figured he didn’t need me there. As focused as I was, I didn’t see how he got it done, but I figured that he got the poppers there with the Force or something.

“Ghost company, let’s move!” The commander called out as the bunker was taken. And in a wave he came through the wall and took out all of the droids in the bunker. It was so quick that it seemed as if only after the wall was taken I could actually breathe.

Obi-Wan sent out scouts to see what we had to deal with. Cody, Waxer, Boil, and Wooley all went ahead. I helped set up our base of operation and studied the map of the village. This was our command center for the moment, and only the moment. I also took the time to check over medical supplies and with our ground medic see if I could do anything.

There wasn’t much. I ended up back at my Master’s side before Cody came back and with a hologram of the map up along with Master Windu on the line he pointed out what he saw. Apparently the courtyard had the guns, but it also had the natives. It was a deterrent that would keep us from bombing the guns or rushing them as we would not endanger the native people in any way.

“The Twi’lek prisoners will make this difficult, but not impossible. I still have a good plan for taking out those guns.” Master Kenobi said with surety. And looking through it I supposed that there was a lot that we could do.

If I had my way I could have grabbed twenty droid poppers, flooded them into the square and detonated them then. But that was not the plan I suppose. It might have been a waste of ammunition that we would need for later. I was noticing that my strategy was not to fight them head to head, but to get rid of as many of them as I could before fighting them. That was also dangerous, because that was not really the Jedi way. But when facing droids and sith, I kind of thought that discretion was the better part of valor.

“Getting the villagers out of harm’s way is our first priority. I have faith in you General Kenobi.” Master Windu reminded us.

Turning to Cody my master then said “Cody, we’ll go in with everything we have. Clear those hostages.” With that said the commander left to see to the troops and I furrowed my brow. There had to be something else that he wasn’t saying, another part of this plan that I was not hearing because that did not sound right to me at all. But I was also just a twelve year old; I was not an expert on military planning. And seeing as this was a first to me, my input would probably be less than appreciated.

We were dismissed from the planning comity and we were to get ready. Guns were triple checked. Poppers were passed out. And armor was tightened in preparation. Any wounds were also double checked just in case. We all knew that this wasn’t going to be easy. But it was what we were here to do. And this was also not the end goal as there was still a long campaign after this once we had the landing area secured.

It was in the middle of that when I looked up suddenly and an uneasy shiver went down through my spine. There was something more here. Something coming. But I had no doubt that Master Obi-Wan probably already knew about it. Just in case I fingered my lightsaber as I went to stand by Cody, who was frowning at his communicator.

“The men set?” Master Obi-Wan asked as he walked over. But then he seemed to see the look on the commander’s face and asked “Cody, what is it?” There was real concern in his voice as he asked. I know that he cared for all of us more than he would ever admit.

“Waxer and Boil are not responding. They never returned from scouting.” Cody replied a bit shortly. I could feel my own brow scrunch at the sound of that.

The Master Jedi seemed to be on the same page as I was as he commented “That isn’t like them.” Then, thinking for a moment he added “They may have run into trouble.”

“Sargent!” Cody called out as he grabbed the attention of a nearby clone, “Use the high-powered transmitter to see if you can reach Waxer and Boil.”

He was rewarded with a crisp “Yes, sir!” even as Master Obi-Wan ordered us to get everyone moving. We were going to be making our move soon it seemed. We had already picked up most of the camp and left the staging area somewhat hidden so that it would not be so easy to find and our heavy duty equipment wasn’t going to slow us down.

Walking through, a strange cry of a creature sounded along with the heavy pounding of clawed feet. Then from around the corner at least a dozen insectoid creatures came sprinting towards us, causing our front like to try and fall back. They were a rust color, with two long hind legs that they stood on and two shorter arms in front. They also had rather sharp beak like mouths made to tear meat from bone. We all started to fall back as the clones tried to find a weakness that their basters could penetrate. The creatures seemed to have a natural armor that was quite thick.

My lightsaber was drawn as I tried to keep out of the way of the rampaging beasts. Occasionally I would push or pull a trooper with me to keep them moving as well. I couldn’t help but think that this was nothing like what I had experienced in the bunker or in the space fights. This was new and terrifying and I honestly was unprepared for this reality of war.

Then the sounds of the creatures muted and they seemed to all turn to a point behind me. Looking, I saw that Master Kenobi had them with his Force suggestion and was walking backwards into an ally. The eight remaining creatures were captivated as they stalked forward. This was a force trick that I admit I was not bad at when one on one with a creature. I don’t think that I could have done it with eight rampaging ones.

Not only was it impressive, but I couldn’t help but watch in awe of what was happening. One day, if I lived that long, I would be able to do that. Not tomorrow or even the day after. But one day I was going to be able to do something like that. And I wasn’t sure if that excited me or scared me.

The power rang like a tune one might hear when circling the top of a wine glass with a slightly dampened finger. Slightly shrill, but with a beauty to it that might shatter at any moment. I could hear that through the Force around us. It was a heady feeling.

It was so distracting that I didn’t quite catch the byplay between the clones behind me. But I did hear the strained voice of my master as he said “Shoot the bridge!” They did in an instant, and then the Jedi Master flipped himself over the rubble, away from the creatures and next to Cody, who just so happened to be holding his lightsaber.

I hadn’t even realized he had dropped it. But before I could question it, there was a metal scraping sound as a manhole cover was being nudged open. Both Master Kenobi and I ignited our lightsabers in an instant and prepared ourselves. Though, I hadn’t really remembered turning my own saber off. I really needed to be more observant. It must have happened as I was distracted with the beast taming that had been going on.

“Don’t shoot!” Obi-Wan then ordered as he powered down his saber. And I followed suit quickly as I saw he had nudged Cody’s gun away from the cover that was jumping and grinding. Finally it came up and a yellow-gold painted trooper climbed out, followed quickly by another. As they saw us, they quickly stood straight in a salute.

“Waxer, Boil, where have you two slackers been?” Cody demanded, but even under the annoyance in his tone I could hear a bit of relief and fond exasperation.

“Sir, there is an explanation.” Boil did his best to reassure nervously.

Waxer spoke up then as he looked slightly down. “We got sidetracked.” A smile burst to my face as I saw a small twi’lek girl hiding behind Boil’s knees. She was positively adorable.

“I think I see what sidetracked you.” My Master said with his own smile. It was amazing what just the sight of the little girl could do to the morale.

Everything seemed to speed up after that. The girl showed us the tunnels and how to get to places in them and a new plan was made. Obi-Wan, Waxer, and Boil were going through the tunnels and freeing the people as I was going to be Cody and the others offering a distraction so that the droids wouldn’t notice the freeing of the hostages. The plan was made in an instant, and the other plan we had was dropped in a moment. I must say that I liked this one a lot better than the first.

So there I stood at the front of the column with Cody as the waves of droids shot at us. I was just glad that I was good at deflecting shots away from me and keeping out of the way of friendly fire. I don’t know all of what was going on in the square, but soon enough we tore through the droids to find that Master Kenobi had already gotten rid of the cannons and the rest of the troops could come in and land. The droid in charge, a tactical unit, was also beheaded by something that wasn't a lightsaber. But that was beside the point.

We had done it. A thrill of accomplishment ran though me. This was important. This was good. I had made a difference. Or, at least I hoped I did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there is the end! I hope you all liked it, and people let me know what you thought about it!


	14. How I Almost Lost My Path

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nemira has to face what she knows and feels about the path she might need to take in the future. The Force is very insistent that she understands these things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright!   
> I wanted to let the present meet the past and the future to try and merge them into an understanding. I also wanted to get into Nemira's inner workings out there. Because she knows all of this. She is a smart person. But most people need things shoved in their face to acknowledge what they already know.   
> I also just really wanted to write something like this!!!  
> I'm not 100% sure it is cannon for normal people, but I really don't care!
> 
> WARNING: mild gore. Just a tiny bit. I don't think it's too bad.

Numa was the name of the little Twi’lek girl. She was absolutely adorable as the trouble two troopers said their farewells. She had called them brothers. It was those moments that made everything worth it. I took a picture of their goodbye to keep it in my memory. A real picture with my phone and not the blue tinged holo that most people usually took. Though, I did take one of those too so that I could share it with the two of them. 

When we left we were still far from finished. Master Windu was the one who was going to be storming for the capital. We were on mop up for the other cities around the planet. It was something that made me appreciate the Twi’lek people even more than I already did. They must be a hearty species if they could survive on a planet that was mostly wasteland and predators. It sometimes seemed as if every thing here was trying to eat us in some capacity.

Then again, I think that people often forget that the Twi’lek people were born with sharp teeth most of the time. Sometimes they didn’t, but a majority of the males always had them. I imagine that they would see good use here on their home planet.

I lost track of how many cities we cleared of droids. Or how many droids I ruthlessly cut down. We took the desert, the southern hemisphere of the planet. One of the trickiest stretches of land I had ever been though and that the people here survived generations in. And then on the stretches of unoccupied planet we were sending clones to fly over the land to find if there were any droid bases we didn’t know about. 

We were actually just setting up a camp outside of the last city we had liberated when something strange started to happen. I was between Master Kenobi and Commander Cody when I felt something different. It was something inside of the Force that was calling out in a subtle way that reminded me of a sound on the edge of hearing. It was distracting, consuming in a way. 

I hardly noticed that my steps had slowed when I heard Cody call out “Commander, are you alright?” His tone was cautious and concerned at the same time. I could tell that his hand was tensed on his blaster once more just as his eyes scanned around for any sign of a threat. He had been with Jedi long enough to know that acting strange meant that there was something going on.

Blinking, I looked over at him, not noticing that I had unfocused my eyes as the feeling washed through me. “Yes, I’m fine.” I answered as I tried to shake off whatever it was that had ensnared my Force senses.

“What do you feel, padawan?” Obi Wan asked as he stopped and looked at me seriously. But not in a battle-ready stance as he kept his hands off of the lightsaber on his waist. It was in the tone of one of my teachers. A Master telling me that this was important. That this was a test of some sort.

I found myself sucking in a breath of air, the feeling coming back as I tried to analyze it. My eyes shut and I could hear an echo of my breath as my heart beat in my ears calmly. Slowly, my head swiveled until it was looking behind us and to the right. “Over there. Something is calling me over there.” I said confidently. Because that was what was happening. The Force was summoning me over to see something.

“I hadn’t thought we would find one so early in your learning. We have the time now. Lead the way, Nemira.” Master Kenobi said softly so that only the three of us could hear. He knew that I had given my name to the commander it seems. And this was important enough for him to use my name. I gave him a slight nod and listened to the Force. 

My surroundings seemed to fade then as all my focus narrowed to the call and I steadily began to walk towards a forested area. It was much like our landing zone, the trees grey and black with dark leafage and lines a plenty. And there were several rock structures all around as well. I walked for I don’t know how long, before I found an entrance to an underground cave. Whispers in the force assaulted me and I felt fear for just a moment before I forced the emotion away and released it.

“What is in there?” I found myself asking in a breathless voice.

“Only what you bring with you.” My master answered in a calm voice that I almost couldn’t believe. But it rushed through the fog in my mind just enough to bring up another memory. One of watching Luke train with Yoda on Degoba. This was some sort of Force point. A gathering of neutral Force that would make some sort of test for me to get through.

But there really was nothing there. Perhaps images in the dark of visions that I would see. But it would just be me and the Force. There was a small nagging at the back of my brain and before I had even considered what I was doing, I had taken my lightsaber from its holster and had offered it to Master Kenobi.

He took it with a solemn nod and then got back to settle into a meditative position, sinking calmly to his knees and centering himself in the Force. I wondered for a moment if he would see what challenge I was about to go through, but something told me that the specifics would stay between me and the Force. That he would only really feel the emotions and outcome of my trial. Because that was what this was, a trial.

Breathing in and out one last time, I stepped forward and into the opening. A few steps in and there was a crack as the stone at the entrance crumbled and blocked my way back. I could hear Cody panic for only a moment before the warm tones of Obi-Wan washed over him in reassurance. Not looking back once, I kept walking forward.

Three steps turned into ten, and then fifteen, and then there was a hand around my arm yanking me into the hard earthen wall and startling a yelp from me. My eyes snapped to the one who grabbed me and my breath caught in my throat. I knew that face, and I knew those clothes.

“Nicole,” I gasped out, trying to force my breathing to calm and my heart to steady. The me before I was me. The life I had seen and then assimilated. The woman I no longer was. Dark brown eyes looking into my hazel ones, my pupil fogged as the membrane was down to protect them from thin webs and hanging roots poking from the walls and ceiling. Her skin was a ghostly pale where I could see it. 

She was not in her earth attire though. No. Her tall form was in a larger version of my Lady Nexu outfit. The bronze voice modulator hanging around her neck. Not to mention there was safety glass covering her, glancing off what little light there was down in these tunnels to sparkle menacingly. Cuts covered her face and the hand that held me was warm and sticky, telling me that there was blood coating it.

“Nemira.” She rasped in a voice that clearly hadn’t been used in a while. “You have no sense of self-preservation!” She hissed as she bared her blunt human teeth. I could imagine how it would look with my fangs in her mouth. Frightening to be sure. It was frightening already. 

I fumbled with words to defend myself out of habit as I tried to understand what she was getting at. But she ignored me as she said “Foolish little girl! You knew the war was coming, and you kept with the Jedi! You know the clones will betray you some day and you invite them closer! You consort with the criminal underground as if it is nothing! You are a horrible Jedi and you know it!” At the end it felt as if she was screaming at me. Screaming the accusations I had been ignoring as they came into my own mind. All of my deep rooted fears being presented to me. 

“They trust me. I am responsible to help them! They wouldn’t betray us, not without a reason. I refuse to stand by and do nothing!” I argued back defiantly. It didn’t occur to me that I was arguing with myself at this point in time.

The hand on my arm released me before it came up and grabbed my neck, squeezing as she lifted me to my tip toes. Panic raced through me almost faster than I could dismiss it. My hands latched onto the wrist belonging to the hand on my throat. It was then that I noticed the second arm of Nicole was limp at her side, the bone peeking through and the shoulder clearly dislocated.

“Lies! You claim them as yours! You claim them, forsaking nonattachment and neutrality! All of this is for your own selfish gain! Do not lie to me! Do not lie to yourself!” She barked in my face, pain twisting her wrathful face.

I wanted to deny it, I wanted to defend myself again. But I couldn’t breathe. Her grip was too tight. Twisting, I kicked out. It worked, it separated us, but it also scraped her cracked nails against my neck and left weeping scratches. Nothing that wouldn’t be gone in less than an hour, but it was painful. I dropped like a sack of bricks and breathed deep, coughing slightly, as I massaged my throat.

And then I let her words wash over me. It was true. I was selfish. I was doing this for me, because I felt that I had to. But was it so wrong to be selfish when it was helping others too? Was what I was doing wrong? I thought that I was doing good where I could. I didn’t want to sit by and let it all happen.

“You’re right.” I managed to whisper just loud enough for us both to hear. “I know you’re right. I’m not Jedi material. I’m possessive, invested, and I care too much. But right now, I am right where I need to be in order to help. If I get out of this alive, then I will quit and let myself be who I’ve been turning into. Until then, I am Padawan Firrerreo. I help those that I can. I won’t always be a Jedi. I understand that.”

I looked up then, right at her face. And watched as a slow smile came to her face. It was gentile, soft. It changed her face from frightening to soothing. Pressure I hadn’t known I’d been feeling seemed to melt away. Before my very eyes Nicole shrunk a few inches before her skin turned golden. Her eyes lightening, canines lengthened, and her hair became two toned. The cuts sealed and all of the grime and glass on her disappeared like vapor. She became an older version of me. And I smiled at myself.

Above the grey hood a crown made of Nexu spines came to being and the posture was regal and fierce. The cuts sealed up just as the glass fell away into nothing. I know in that moment that I was glimpsing my future. And my future apparently had no lightsaber, for there was none strapped to her belt. Only the small familiar blaster.

That was alright though. I think that there was a part of me that knew that going into this. I gave a nod and watched as the future vision of me turned to stardust and drifted away. It was kind of beautiful. And not something I was never going to forget as long as I lived.

And to think, I was only thirteen. My birthday having snuck up on me earlier this month.

My trip out of the cavern was easy enough. A wave of Force cleared the entrance gently and I surfaced to a worried Commander and a smirking Jedi Master. Though I could see his eyes scan me over carefully for injury, catching on the scratches that had already scabbed over on my neck.

“That looks painful.” He said pointedly as he walked closer and carefully brought his hand up to guide my chin to the side to get a better view of the left side where the four out of five scratches were.

I bit back a slightly hysterical laugh and answered “I guess that I needed a couple of points hammered in.” He backed off a little then and looked into my eyes. I gave an earnest smile, small but with a lot of feeling behind it. I was fine. I was better than fine.

“You seem settled. That is good. Sometimes when the Force has points to make it causes confusion and turmoil. You have done well, Padawan.” He said decidedly with a proud quality to his voice.

My smile widened visibly before I looked over to out other audience member and said “Sorry about the detour Cody. Sometimes things just happen.” I gave a playful shrug and we all took that as a sign to begin to make our way back to the camp. Or where the others were planning to set up camp. The moon was higher in the sky than I remembered. I must have been down there longer than I had thought.

“What was down there, if you don’t mind me asking?” He asked. I think he noticed that I had used his name in a friendly way, a way to show that I really was sorry and that I had trusted him as I was away. At least, I hope he took it that way.

“Just what I took with me. You heard Master Kenobi.” I teased slightly.

He raised an eyebrow at me in disbelief. “I’m pretty sure you don’t have a hand with you, and I know enough to know that you couldn’t have given yourself those scratches. There is no blood under your nails and the hands are too big.” He was very observant. That was good.

“Sometimes, the worries and fears that you push away can get very pushy when the Force needs you to acknowledge them. Mysterious are the ways of the Force and all that.” I said and shared a smile with my master. The first part was all me, but everyone had heard some iteration of Master Yoda’s Force philosophy. Everyone had heard that particular adage dozens of times. 

“If you say so.” Cody gave up with pursed lips and hard shoulders.

Master Kenobi took pity on him and explained “Sometimes there are places where the Force congregates. Light side or dark side, it doesn’t really matter unless it is too strong in one or the other. All things considered this one was particularly neutral. Sometimes they call to one sensitive to the Force to test them. In this case it was a trial of some inner conflict that Nemira had to overcome to continue her training. Perhaps a facet of herself that she needed to accept. I’m not sure and we don’t ask as each trial is very personal and tailored to tempt the Force sensitive in some way.”

I smiled at that, and before I could stop myself, I said “I was confronted with my past and my future, and the decisions that I had to make but were already decided. I had to accept myself and my path.” I didn’t say what that path was, but I figured that it wouldn’t be bad for them to come up with their own conclusions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And end! I will admit that this is one of my favorite chapters, and I really hope that you all like it as well.   
> People let me know what you thought!


	15. How to Keep a Space Station Intact … or Not

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the Ryloth campaign done, there is still no rest for the weary. Naboo has sent a message, again, and so they are making it there with all due haste. But to do that they also need to refuel. And of course, no one can do anything without something going wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This entire plot line came out from a video game that I don't know the name of....oops.   
> But I found a play through on YouTube and I liked the plot and idea of it. So I added it into the story. And the best part is that it goes right here in the time line as well.

I was relieved to be off of Ryloth. Don’t get me wrong, the people were great and everything, but it will probably now always be the first place where I knew what true war was. And the place of the Force sanctioned trial that was not going to leave my head any time soon. Both things were not highlights of my life that I needed a reminder of. 

Master Windu retook the capital and everything was under control at the moment. Ryloth was free and the fighting was trickling to a stop as the droids were being found and destroyed. And that meant that our presence wasn't necessarily needed here anymore. We were being pulled and Knight Skywalker along with the 501st were set to clean up what was left of the droids. The sun was getting to me by then and it was good to be loaded up and brought back to our cruiser in space. Though, we were not out there for long.

We got on the Negotiator just in time to be sent out to meet with Senator Amidala to investigate enemy activity in the Naboo System. Seriously, we hadn't even been given time to sleep before the call came and I know that all of us were exhausted. We got on the Jedi fighters anyway and flew to a communications space station, Juma-9, along with a small group of men to refuel before going on to meet with the senator. 

I was glad that the ship basically flew itself as I followed and that there was no dogfight in the space between us and the station. I could not handle that at the moment. And considering that both myself and my master had taken stims to keep us awake, the medics were going to kill us when this was over. I had a feeling that I would have to hide the tea too and make Master Obi-Wan sleep. Those were the thoughts circling through my head as I landed the fighter and got out into the hanger of the station.

“I want to get underway as soon as possible.” Master Obi-Wan said as he stalked through the hanger. I could tell that he was agitated about all of this.

“Yes sir!” Cody was quick to agree. “I’ll inform you as soon as your fighter has been refueled.” I was on the other side of my master, so it was really just like usual when a padawan was tagging along blindly.

“Thank you, Cody. I’m going to speak with the station’s commander. I won’t be long. You will stay here with Commander Cody and make sure everything is ready to go.” He added as we got closer to the lift at the back of the hanger. I gave a nod to show that I understood and fell back a little so that I wasn't in the way. 

“Master Kenobi.” A voice spoke. Looking up I smiled to see that Master Plo Koon was there already. He was a welcome sight; we didn’t usually pass by another Jedi when out of the temple or in the battle field. It was nice to see someone and not be gearing up for a fight.

With a surprised smile Master answered “Master Plo! I wasn’t expecting to see you all the way out here.”

“The will of the Force is most inscrutable, Obi-Wan. But I am grateful that our paths have crossed.” The Kel Dor Jedi Master said. I could feel that he was pleased to see us, even if the filter he used to breathe through was also very good at obscuring facial expression. Not like that would help if we could see his face. Kel Dor might share a shape with humans and human-like peoples, but besides having eyes they didn't resemble anything we would really understand. 

I turned to Cody with a smile as the two continued to talk while they walked away. He returned it with a small smirk of his own before leaving to check on the teams that were fueling us up. I paused to wonder why everything always came back to Naboo as I stroked the dome of R4. It was Obi-Wan’s droid. I was using R3-L1 at the moment. He had a green paint job and was a fair bit newer than the other Astromech models that we were using.

I was brought out of my musing as there was a slight crash to the station. Of course, there was. Just a quick refuel and we were being interrupted by the separatist droids. Well, I had expected this. Within my mind and hoping beyond hope that I was just being pessimistic. Was it too much to hope for a nice flight to the Naboo System?

I guess it was as Droids began to storm the station. Comms sparked and the clones scrambled to defend the place. Juma-9 was not a place that was supposed to be a target for anything. There was no military advantage to it besides maybe it’s proximity to Ryloth and the ability to send out long range messages.

Heck, it was bad for staging because it was surrounded by asteroids. Speaking of that, we were supposed to be able to tell when someone was coming a while off because it was nearly impossible to jump in at hyperspace speeds. There was a reason we had been in fighters and had not brought the Negotiator here. How had they gotten so close without us knowing?

I ended up near Cody as I used the blaster fire to my advantage in blocking the bolts back towards the droids. There were too many clones with blasters going off to get up close and personal without giving them a disadvantage. I did not want to be in the way as it would be the opposite of helping.

It was a good thing I parked where I did because I heard Master Kenobi come across the 212th comms. “Cody, I need you to divert all power to the station’s deflector shields! Do you copy?” His voice yelled. Then again with a “Cody, come in?”

“I read you, General!” Cody answered as he ducked to avoid blaster fire, pausing his own fire to answer. “But we’ve got a problem here.” Because we did. If we wanted to get anywhere, we needed to clear the flight deck of droids and make sure they didn’t trash our ships.

“That’s an understatement.” I heard Kenobi snip back softly.

But Cody was good at ignoring such things as he looked to his wrist and reported “I’m getting reports that the droids have breached the reactor core.” That wasn’t good. As Jedi, Master and I had comms to the commanders and if we needed another person we would synch them in by number, it was Cody and his bucket that received the bulk of the chatter and reported it to us. The bucket visor was good for that and they knew to keep it to only important things. 

“We’ll take care of the reactor! You get to the control room and reinforce those shields!” He ordered with steel in his voice.

“On my way, Sir!” Cody acknowledged before signing out. Then in true form he ordered the men to take care of the deck before he grabbed three troopers from our group and a softshell techy who worked on the base.

I yelled out as I deflected a few more shots “Do you need me to come with? Or do you have it?” I could tell as well as he could that we were doing fine over here again. As fine as we could be doing. Until another wave came in we were in a stale mate, and the only thing that would help would be the shields.

“Come with,” Cody decided with a hard nod.

With that we fought our way out of the hanger and into the lift, riding it down to get to the generator. This was much harder than being the invading force. We were under siege and it felt as if their numbers were endless in a way. That we could kill kill one and five more would come around the corner. My heart beat fast in my chest and I could feel my teeth grind.

Finally, we made it to the right deck and Cody reached out for the General. It was the same thing as before. We needed to reinforce the shield, get more power to its generators, and get the techy to them. He was a Privet apparently. Good for him. I hadn’t caught if he went by a name or not.

Droids came in waves. Both the B2’s and the larger counter parts the Super Battle Droids. But it was easy enough to get past them. Then it was a matter of flipping some switches and letting the power flow. Privet Switch, yeah, that was his name, worked magic on the computers as we kept the droids off of him.

“The deflector shields appear to be holding, Sir.” Cody reported once we were sure it was working. “But there are already plenty of clankers on board.”

“Good work. Get to the docking section and secure the cargo decks.” Obi-Wan replied.

Something tugged at me as Cody signed off. Something that made me lift my own communicator to my lips as I said “There is more than just droids in the station. Someone is there. Be careful Master, he doesn’t make idle threats.” My voice was tinged in the way that told others I was speaking while feeling something in the future.

“I will be mindful. Stay focused on the here and now for the moment, Padawan. It would not do for you to lose sight of the droids in front of you.” He replied seriously but with a teasing edge. And I suppose that I couldn’t have asked him to be anything more. Not in this situation. We had to be rooted in the now during a fight like this. I knew that much. 

“Right.” I nodded, even if he couldn’t see it. We were quick to run forward. We needed to see to the cargo bays and everything else that stood on our way to them. Still, I didn’t like how this was shaping up.

…

We were interrupted in our storming of the bowels of the station as something blew up. Literally. It shook the entire station, which was strange seeing as the droids punching through the outside hadn’t done that.

“What was that?” Switch asked as he looked around nervously.

“Cody! Get everyone off the station! Now!” Master Kenobi yelled across the comms.

Confused, Cody protested “Sir, we’ve just secured the cargo decks, one and two!” I’m not sure what he was protesting though, it seemed clear that there was something going on. New sirens were going off and everything.

“In a few minutes there won’t be anything left to secure, Commander!” Obi-Wan exclaimed in almost a panic. You know, if Jedi masters could panic. I don’t think they really did. But here, this was getting as close to panicking as they did get and that was not a good thing. 

That seemed to kick start something as Cody replied “Understood, General.” Then on the general frequencies he called out “Alright men! We’re getting off this rock-crusher!” Turning them off, he turned to Switch and said “You lead the way, softshell!”

With a salute he did as told and we were running. All the way to the escape pods. Running through as many stupid droids as we had to. This really was a day that I was writing off as kriffed from the start. There was nothing good about it. And a feeling in the back of my mind that was sarcastically bemoaning my lack of sleep also traitorously thought that it was only going to get worse. 

Slicing another Supper Battle Droid, we finally met up with some of the other men who were making use of the escape pods as well. I, of course, was going on the last one with Commander Cody. He was yelling orders, and at this point I was just following them like the other men. He was saying all of the orders I might make, and faster than I was too. So there was no point in confusing anyone. 

Though, I did call out “You too Commander!” To make sure he knew that getting in the pod was required of him as well. A briefly made a mental note to wonder if Master Kenobi was getting into one as well, but I didn’t dwell on it. This was Oni-Wan Kenobi I was talking about. This was not how he was fated to die. I was confident enough in that truth. 

Everyone in, we were set to go, and the pod wasn’t moving. The last thing that I wanted to hear were the words “Blast it, it’s fried!” Coming out of Cody’s mouth. Of course, that was just what was said. We were doomed. My panic skyrocketed.

“We’ll have to use the manual override.” Switch announced as he got up and out of the pod. We followed him with our eyes before looking at each other with a shrug. I did not know the first thing about programing and slicing and how ships worked. I could pilot my little fighter and work a navicomputer. That was about it. And I was alright with not knowing the specifics most times. 

I let myself drift a little bit into the force once more and said “It’ll be fine. He knows what he’s doing.” Because he did. But for some reason I did not know if he was going to get back on the pod or not. But that didn’t seem to matter to his over all life span. I didn’t know if that was concerning or not. My understanding wasn't complete. 

My words, even when spoken the way that they were didn’t stop Cody from riding on him a bit for being slow, because something was happening and things were exploding, and we needed off this thing as soon as possible.

Of course, then the man decided to shoot the controls, which to his credit got them to release the pod, but he was not on it. “Good luck, Sir!” I heard him call out almost cheerfully as the pod was jettisoned and the explosions were happening on the deck we were just attached to. We were flying away just as we could see the explosions still rocking the station.

But, there was that feeling still, at the edge of my range. I could still feel the lone trooper in the Force. “Don’t worry Commander. Switch is fine. He will be needed on the Station. We will see him soon enough.”

As a testament to how much he trusted us, Cody seemed to be relieved to hear that. He believed me fully as he went back to the controls and started to steer the pod once more. I couldn’t help but also notice that Masters Kenobi and Koon were both still on that station as well. And from the feel of things, they were fighting.

It was strange, I couldn’t figure out why this was going on. There was nothing for the separatists here. It wasn’t making any sense. For now, all that we could do was drift and wait for whoever was going to come and retrieve us to get here. It was too bad that besides shifting our course, escape pods weren't what one might call flyable. 

…

It wasn’t nearly as long as I thought it would be when we were picked up. It was by Commander Ponds of the 91st. He was one of Master Windu’s commanders. I hadn’t actually spoken a word to him, but he and Cody seemed to be close from how they greeted each other. I got that Cody was a little older, but this was one of his closer brothers. Not to mention they were both Martial Commanders as both Master Windu and Master Kenobi were High Generals. 

Once on the ship that picked us up, the Commander of the 91st commed Master Windu quickly enough. “Good to have you here, sirs.” He said as it was answered. “We just picked up Commander Cody and Commander Firrerreo in one of the escape pods. Stand by,”

He then switched it to the one that Cody and I were using so that we could talk with the General. And surprisingly enough there were two Jedi there. Master Fisto was with Master Windu. And it made me feel better to see them both. “General Windu, General Fisto.” Cody saluted as I bowed with a murmur of “Masters,” on my tongue. Though, Cody continued as he said “I’m afraid the station is a bit of a mess.”

“Where is General Plo? And General Kenobi?” Master Windu asked in his stern way. Waving off the pleasantries as always. Just as brisk and blunt as always I supposed.

“We don’t know. Both of them were on board the Station, but we separated shortly before the attack.” I answered as strongly as I could, though it felt a bit like I had nothing to contribute.

Commander Cody took that moment to answer “General Kenobi ordered us to evacuate when the explosions started.”

As if sensing that we hadn’t liked the order Master Fisto said in his kind way “Don’t worry Commander, Padawan. We’ll find them.” It was something that I knew I could trust. The word of a Jedi Master. And it was said in full confidence as well as the natural smile that everyone associated with the nautolan Jedi. 

The Comm was turned off after that.

Somehow, I knew that this was going to be even more complicated than I was thinking it already was. Something big was going on here. Something that we couldn't see. And now there were four Jedi Masters on this on station.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there we have it! I hope you all like it and let me know what you think! I live off of feedback.


	16. How to Sabotage a Super Weapon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With everything going on in the station, there is something that everyone seems to be forgetting. What about the mission to Naboo?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a busy chapter! And I think that's a good thing.  
> I want to thank you all for reading and those who reviewed to let me know what they thought. It really means a lot to me!  
> So here is the next chapter! And it is longer than usual too!

We ended up back on the station in short order, and I was in a space sealed suit. It was different from the armor and helmets that the Clones wore that allowed them some time in the vacuum of space, it was softer and not really made for fighting. It was more like a skin tight bodysuit with a fishbowl over my head. But it was going to be the best that I could use at the moment.

Our orders were to restore as much of this base as we could to make searching for Masters Kenobi and Plo easier. The problem was that this place was still crawling in droids. Inside and outside. Sometimes I wondered where all of the metal came from to make this many of them.

“Why do we always get the lousy opps?” A trooper interrupted my thoughts as we carefully walked along the outside of the station to get to the power couplets and relays and capacitors that he been jarred during the attack. It was me, the two Commanders, and two other clones who were too shiny to have been given paint for their armor yet. And they were from Commander Ponds' side of the army, so I didn't know them.

Cody snapped back “You should learn to enjoy the peace and quiet while you can, Privet.” And that was pretty snippy of him. I knew that he was still worried about Obi-Wan. He was always worried about him. But usually he didn't take it out on shinies.

As he went to complain some more, Ponds called out “Cut the chatter Flak, you’ll get your chance soon enough.” That said we shifted to a new artificial gravitational well and started forward again.

The silence was interrupted as Windu commed “We are in the core, Commander, we need that capacitor chain operational.”

“Right away sir!” Ponds responded before he called out “You heard the General! Let’s move!” I’ve become accustom to the repeating and yelling of orders. The clones seemed to use it as a rally and a goal that they needed to reach. It was interesting to see sometimes.

“Stay sharp!” Cody commented as he took up the rear and I was in the center, “The clankers might still have a few surprises in store for us.”

Of course he had to say that. We came across to see what was being a problem to see a vulture droid and a few accompanying surprises. So, me and my lightsaber stood in front and tried to deflect the shots as Ponds was talking to his general and the other three were shooting as best they could.

It took a while, but it was deactivated, and I look the moment to use the force and fling the sparking droid carcass out of the way as the 91st’s commander used his jet back to get other there and fix what had been messed with.

“If this is going to be the pattern, then we have a lot of work a head of us.” I huffed as I brought out the holo map to see where the other three were. One seemed fine, but the computer had shown that there were still two that needed to be reconfigured.

Cody sighed as he got his gun ready again and checked the energy pack. We had been fighting for a long time by then. “And the shiny wanted to crush some clankers. He just had to say that, didn’t he?”

I stifled a laugh that tried to make its way out of me before we both turned and followed Commander Ponds at a brisk jog. The second was not nearly as hard as the first, but it was the last one that gave us an interesting find.

“Commander, those are Master Kenobi’s and Master Plo’s lightsabers!” I called out as I reached for the two floating weapons. They came to me quickly and I could feel the tensing of Cody next to me.

“We will let the generals know as soon as we clear the last capacitor.” Ponds decided. And we did just that. I handed Cody the familiar lightsaber, knowing that there was a place for it on his belt as I held on to the other one. If nothing else, I had picked up a little bit of Jar Kai from Ahsoka. And there wasn’t anywhere to put the extra blade.

The Masters gave us the usual platitudes as they worked to get the power back on and we worked on find where we needed to be. Or how to get back on the station.

We all gave a cheer as the power was restored. Maybe this meant that the internal comms might be working as well. 

As if the universe heard my thoughts, a voice came through on the internal communications network. “Hello! Does anyone copy? This is an emergency! Please respond!” A voice came through. A familiar voice too. A smile tugged at me lips.

“This is General Mace Windu. Identify yourself.” Master Windu answered the comm.

“This is CP-6824 of the Juma-9 station!” The clone answered as he was quick to shoot off a salute. “Am I glad to hear your voice, sir.” He added.

“Switch?” Cody said in shock. In fact, all of his body language was screaming it.

Not wanting to push too much I bumped his shoulder and said “I told you he would be fine. He’s exactly where he is needed.” That caused the other three clones to give me a strange look through their helmets, but Cody just gave me a distracted nod. He was more used to me I suppose.

It also interrupted anything that might have broken us into a tangent as Master Fisto took control of the comm. “Privet, this is General Fisto. Do you have a current fix on Generals Plo or Kenobi?” He asked.

“Negative, sir. I haven’t been able to contact anyone for some time.” He confessed.

“Can you find them?” I heard Master Windu ask almost softly.

There was a slight pause before the answer came through the comm. “I think so.” Cody perked right up as it was followed by Switch saying “Yes, I can recalibrate the internal scanners, but I need time.”

“That’s your mission Switch.” Master Fisto said strongly. “Hold position, we’re coming to you.”

With that done, Windu ordered us to get inside and then wait for more orders. That seemed to be a pattern here. I was a little bit distressed that I couldn’t find something more helpful for anyone, but at the same time there was just this vague feeling that there was something big and unknown going on at the moment. And I was not meant to understand it yet.

But why this station? This was important. Somehow this warranted four Jedi masters. And we hadn’t even been here to stay. We were only here because we needed to get more fuel for our trip to … our trip to Naboo because we were asked for help!

I gasped slightly before I stopped completely, ignoring the fact that it made Cody take out his gun again and had Ponds tensing up. Instead I activated my comm and asked “Masters, has anyone been sent to Naboo? I understand that we are trying to rescue Masters Kenobi and Plo, but they asked for our help a while ago, and I am unsure if that plea has been answered.”

“No we haven’t.” Master Windu said slowly.

“Why is it you ask, Padawan. Is there something you have discovered?” I heard Master Fisto cut in.

I licked my lips as they were suddenly very dry. “It’s just, why this station? There are now four Masters here. This station has no real military significance, and yet they came here right as Master and I came to refuel on our way to Naboo. What if it is connected? I can feel that something here is important, but I can also feel that something is going to be happening in the Naboo system.” I tried to explain.

“Then you must go to the Naboo,” Master Fisto answered easily.

I blinked. “What?” I asked weakly for clarification.

He gave a slight laugh before he said “You are not needed here; the Commanders and their men will be able to do what we need to find your master and Plo. Your feelings have proven accurate in the past. I trust that you can get to Naboo and find out what is wrong before calling us if it is important.”

“Right,” I acknowledged with determination replacing nerves. I was given a job. And I would be damned if I didn’t follow it to the best of my ability. Even if Naboo was not a place that I really wanted to back to any time soon.

Turning off the comm, I took out Master Plo’s lightsaber and handed it to Cody. “Hold on to this one too, alright?” I asked with a half-smile. This was going to be my first solo mission. I might as well make the best of it.

“You be careful out there Commander.” He said back as he accepted the saber.

“Would it ease your mind if I told you I have the blaster you game me still, and I also finished my EMP gun?” I asked with faux cheer in my voice that was obviously at odds with how I was really feeling.

“As a matter of fact, it would. Keep them on you.” He answered with a crisp nod. And with that I gave him one last cheeky grin before I was running towards the hanger with my ship. The good news was that it was one of the ones that was already primed to continue the flight to Naboo, unlike a couple others that were interrupted.

As I left I could hear Commander Ponds asked Cody “How the kriff did you get a Jedi to carry a blaster?” It made me snort just a little. I had asked for it, and I needed one as Lady Nexu. The other Jedi wouldn’t be caught dead with one. I knew that made me different as well.

…

In space, I had R3 send a message to the Naboo that I was on my way. It was replied to with the statement that I was to meet Senator Amidala at the hanger and be ready to follow her. Apparently, there was something going on and though I was only a Padawan, I was going to be her only back up. This was not something that I thought was good.

Last time I was her back up, I got caught in an underground bunker waiting for Obi-Wan and Skywalker to get the cure for the virus I was infected with. Not that I didn’t think she was probably amazing. But one could at least hope that I could see her without being in some sort of plot.

I also kind of wished that I had clone back up. They were dependable at the very least. But there was really nothing that I could do from the station. I was just kind of floundering. But there was something about this path that I felt was right. I needed to be here with the Senator.

I had barely touched down when I was literally ushered into the Nabooian ship with Amidala and we were out again. Carefully I asked “Senator, I’m sorry that I was the only one able to come, there was an accident at the station where we were refueling.”

“Oh, don’t worry, Padawan Firrerreo, I understand. I’m just glad to have back up. I’ve been getting strange reports lately, and I know that we have to check it out. So I guess we are going to be doing a little scouting.” She replied kindly with a smile.

I swallowed thickly. This did not sound like a good idea at all. “Do you know where you are planning on looking?” I asked as I turned to look at the scans that there in front of me. A part of me wished that I had been able to take my own ship with R3, surly he would have been able to pick something up as well.

“Well, I figured we would see what we would see,” She gave me a shrug. If I hadn’t been despairing over this decision before, I was now.

I went to retort, but before I could we both spotted something odd. That was a ship. And it was going to Behpour. It was a planet that was not populated due to the acidic wastes and radioactivity dangers. Humans could only spend so much time on there until they fell sick.

“I guess that was what we were looking for.” I muttered softly as we steered the ship closer. Slowly we landed to see that there was a base here. A real base with droids and horribleness. And there was something inside of me that I felt. Something was wrong here. Deeply wrong. And dangerous. We were not supposed to be here, and neither were they.

We got off the shuttle and were inside of the base before I could formulate an argument against it. But Amidala was going and I could not leave her alone. If she died, I did not want to know what would happen. Nothing good.

We were shrouded in the shadows as we were listening to the mindless drivel of the droids. They did not have anything good to say. I could tell that much. And from what it sounded like, they were waiting for one more part to get to them so that they could use a super weapon of some kind to collapse the Sun of the Naboo System. That would kill all life inside of it. This was really, really, bad.

“I have to call my Master.” I said and with her nod I got out my communicator and dialed up the station. To my utter surprise when it was answered there was not only the four Masters I thought to see, but also Master Luminara, Knight Secera, Master Yoda and Knight Skywalker along with Padawan Tano. This was not at all what I was expecting. But I was going to make my announcement anyway.

“Masters, I am with Senator Amidala. We’ve discovered a Separatist Base on Behpour, near the Naboo sun.” I reported urgently.

She then piped up as she said, blaster raised and ready to raid this base, which was something that I did not want to do without back up “There’s a lot of activity, it looks like they…” She cut off and moved and I looked over too.

“We might’ve been spotted,” I warned as I brought my own saber out this was not good. And they must have had a jammer of some kind because the connection snapped. I picked it up and shoved us both into the shadows. I was not going to be captured here.

“We have to take out this weapon. Did you hear them talking?” She snapped back once the droids had run past us.

“I know, and I agree, but we have to be careful. Being caught in here would help no one!” I argued back. And I hoped that she could see the logic in it.

She sighed and stood down as we continued to creep through the base. The good news was that it didn’t take too much time for the explosions to start happening. “It seems we have company.” Amidala said with a smirk.

“Yes, now we just need to figure out where the controls are and how to deactivate them.” I agreed.

It didn’t take long for the alarms to start to go off. “They really don’t do stealth very well, do they.” I heard muttered under her breath. But by that time a new feeling seemed to come over me. There was someone else here.

Someone dark. But there was something else too. “Senator, I think that we need to get out of here. I understand that the weapon needs to be stopped, but with Jedi Masters now here, I am sure that it is my job to get you out of here or at the very least we should rendezvous with them.” I tried to explain my feeling. Mostly I wanted to make sure I wasn’t going to lead her into a trap.

“I understand that you feel that way, but I will not wait here for rescue.” She answered back strongly. I withheld a sigh as she brought herself out into the open. This was not going to be great. And I didn't say to wait for rescue, I was just asking her to think a little bit more about self preservation.

And sure enough, I was right. We managed to run right into some sleemo from the techno union. He said his name, I’m sure he did, but I didn’t bother to remember it. My lightsaber was confiscated as he surprised us and we were kind of just, well, captured. I was pissed.

But I still had a couple of weapons as Amidala pleaded to whoever was contact to just destroy the base. I agreed, but I was also waiting for the time to strike. I had a blaster and my EMP gun. At some point he would turn his back to me.

I breathed carefully as I reminded myself to stay in the here and now. As I was tied up in the air. I was just starting to unknot the ropes when Knight Skywalker and his padawan came out. They started taking, and I was able to free myself just as Skywalker freed the Senator. My lightsaber answered my call just as I landed and I helped Ahsoka to distract the Skakoan.

“Padawan Firrerreo, you go with the Senator!” He called out and I sighed again. But I could understand the reasoning.

“Okay Senator, what’s the plan this time?” I asked as we jogged off. I was proud of myself that no sarcasm leaked into my voice as I asked that too.

Breathing somewhat heavily she answered “There’s a power regulator, I guess we are going to have to sabotage it.”

I scoffed loudly at that. “That is a horrible plan. Let’s go do it.” I said. And she let out a light laugh as I flashed her a fanged smile. Just because it was insane did not mean that it was not going to work. It just meant that we were going to have to be quick.

“And our exit?” I asked carefully. We had reached the regulator.

“The Twilight is in the docking area.” She answered as she started to pull wires and sabotage the machine.

There was a countdown initiated and I sighed before saying “I guess that is our cue.” I didn’t actually know where I was going, but I figured that with the force to guide me I just had to run and follow my gut. This was already ten times worse than the Blue Shadow Virus debacle. But to keep things from following us, I sabotaged every door we closed with my EMP gun.

We made it to our destination, only, there was no Shuttle. Oh, this was bad. “Stay sharp!” Skywalker commanded as he appeared out of nowhere, “here come our rides.” There were two droids coming up on their version of hover bikes. Ahsoka and he took care of them before coming back up, him getting Amidala in a Princess carry as I hopped onto the back of Ahsoka’s.

“Race you to the top!” The Togrutan Padawan cheered as the two bikes rushed up and to the exit. There were lasers, shots fired, and too many obstacles, but in the end we jumped onto the loading platform of The Twilight where Rex, Cody and Ponds were waiting with Master Wundu and Kenobi.

I know that once on I gave a huge breath of relief and just about slumped into a pile. And icing on the cake; as we flew off, and the base blew up.

“Most impressive, tell me Anakin, what did you do to sabotage the base?” Master Kenobi asked once we were safe.

Cagily, the man answered “Well, what I did. Um, do you mean what I did personally or…” I sighed in exasperation.

“Anakin,” Master Kenobi groaned as he looked at his former Padawan.

“Sorry, Master Kenobi,” Amidala spoke up, “Your current Padawan and I did that.” I couldn’t stop the grin that over took my face if I had wanted to.

“Oh?” He asked. It was clear that was not the answer he was looking for.

“Well, when the Skakoan was holding them, we were pointed to the power regulator by your former Padawan and the good Senator might have messed around with it to make sure it would fail.” I answered with a nervous laugh.

Of course Obi-Wan wasn’t done with that answer. So he pressed on “And I suppose this was all a part of your plan, Anakin?”

“But of course, Master,” He said with confidence that I did not feel. So I rolled my eyes and ignored the rest of it.

As we left the system, I couldn’t help but be glad that we were done. I was getting kind of tired of Naboo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you have it!  
> Nemira is about done with Naboo and all of the drama that comes with it.  
> Let me know what you thought about this!


	17. How to Find Forced Betrayal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nemira gets some time with her network once again, and this time it gives her a shock and a lot more work to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright! Thank you all for your input. I was told that the action was good, but seeing a bit more personal interaction would be nice. I'm not sure how much I can give, but I will try to keep that in mind!   
> I hope that you all like this chapter!  
> Oh, and Thire! I like Thire! He was one of the first clones I met when I started clone wars. It took me literally half a season for me to realize that it was not in chronological order. So I'm giving him a little spotlight because he is awesome.

Our last deployment on Felucia did not go well. Well, it went alright on my end, but Ahsoka got ahead of herself, and that ended in a loss. It was pretty bad, but I could tell that she understood that she had done wrong. I didn’t blame her much. She was only fourteen going on fifteen, just as I was only just thirteen. We were too young for this, and sometimes we didn't make the right decisions. The amount of pressure on us sometimes felt so very unfair. 

But it had us all recalled to the Temple and Ahsoka on guard duty in the archives. I figured that it was passed time that I went back to my network again, and from the looks that I got from Master Windu and Kenobi, they seemed to think the same as well. And yes, I could tell that with a look.

Consisting of both expectation and the sort of look that screamed 'why are you still here' while not being anything less than polite. It was strange and complex, and it had me slipping into my Lady Nexu attire and leaving the Temple under a cloak. And for some reason with more credits then I usually brought. I didn't know why, but I felt that it was needed. Of course I listened to that feeling as I always did. 

I noticed right away as a clone in civvies picked up my path. It wasn’t Cody, The Negotiator and the 212th were back picking up more troops from Kamino. So this one must have been a trooper from the Coruscant Guard that was brought into the fold. I didn’t mind. It was just another person to watch my back. Even if I was perfectly safe where I was going.

Not to say that any of them were interchangeable. Each clone was different. But I trusted Cody to care enough to have good brothers following me when he couldn't. The fact that they were there said as much. So I was perfectly fine with the tail.

Getting to the lower levels, I got rid of the Jedi cloak and straightened my posture into the one that I was most comfortable in with when playing this role. Head held high, blaster (now a real one) strapped to my thigh, and the copper voice synthesizer over the bottom half of my face. My hood was up as always and I stalked into the place.

A few heads turned, but not many. I saw a runner slip out and smiled to myself as I put a few credits on the counter and a glass of water found its way in front of me. I gave a nod to the owner and he chuckled a little himself.

I watched as the clone took a seat at the same table that Cody had seemed to always claim before I started a round of sabacc. This time I was more than a little surprised when a Kaminoan sat at the table. She stuck out quite a bit and was looking very uncomfortable. The force sang in my ears that today was going to be important. It also seemed to be giggling again.

Sure enough, she won the hand. How very interesting. “Come, drink with me,” I did my customary order as I slid up to the bar. And the long-necked individual followed. She had a certain grace to her that was out of place in this dingy little bar, but it suited her. I could see that the trooper was stiff as a board as I did so as well. I could imagine that he didn’t like the connotations of a long neck being here.

“I am Nalo Me, and I have come to ask for your assistance, Lady Nexu.” She said only just loud enough for me to hear. Like most female Kaminoans, she had a soft and kind sounding voice. It was interesting considering how the clones viewed the so called longnecks.

“Continue, I will hear your plea.” I replied in a soft rumble that seemed to almost sound like a purr through my mask.

She seemed to center herself in her thoughts before she said “My great-great-grandfather was the one who pioneered cloning. It was to keep our species alive, and much more. He believed it a way to preserve knowledge and learning, to bring the brightest minds more time to learn and create. If he saw some of the things we have done now, he would be most ashamed.” She started. And I could hear real regret in her voice. I felt my spine straighten at it. 

Taking a drink from the glass she ordered she continued “I was once a part of the cloning process for the GAR. But I protested some of the alterations that they were told to bring. Mainly keeping the fast aging on before they were delivered and the addition of control chips to the clones.” At this point her words were so quiet that I could only just make it out.

But I heard what she said, and I felt rage boil in me for a moment before I forced it away. Rage would not help me now. Control chips? Was that the reason? Was this the answer that I didn’t have? They were forced to betray the Jedi. They hadn’t done it of their own free will. Not to mention even as she disagreed with that, she still talked about the clones as a product and not as beings themselves. 

I let go of the rage, but I let the injustice engulf me for a moment. But only a moment. Then I replied “I see. And what do you propose I do about it?” That was a good enough question. I wanted to know why she came to me with this.

“I know that you take a stand against slavery in any form. I had hopes that if I could give you data, you could help them. I have with me a formula to stop the aging process and all the technical information I could get on the organic control chips. They watch me, so I cannot take this to the Jedi, but the watchers would never follow me down here.” She said softly.

I made a humming sound that actually sounded like a growl. Then I replied “I will do as you ask. Not for you, but for them.” I then watched as she gave me two holopads. One that was for the chips and the other that had the formula for the compound to stop the rapid aging of the clones.

I took out my phone and did a quick image capture on the second before I waved her away. She did so almost gleefully as she left the premise and disappeared into the streets. I then took the moment to look around until I found someone that the force told me would do as I needed. Flicking my hand out I snapped and beckoned him forward towards me.

He came with a look on his face that just screamed he would do whatever he needed to do to help me. I mean, it was almost like a lost puppy that I had summoned to me. “Get me our best slicers, now.” I said calmly as I gave him a few credits. The boy nodded quickly and then all but ran out of the door.

I waited there, sometimes conversing with a couple other regulars that I knew as mine. It was strange to be here without my Bounty Hunter, but I also knew that she must have been busy herself. With what I did not know, but it would be interesting to see what she ended up with. Especially with that wager she was making.

Before the night cycle was done three figures came in. A man and two woman. They came in and sat around me. I could tell that they were my slicers that I had asked for. And they seemed eager as well, if nervous. As if they had been waiting for me to start making moves. And perhaps everyone who was mine had been. 

“Sweeties, it is good that we are all here. You know my thoughts on freedom, yes?” I asked almost casually as I greeted them warmer than I would usually would have. 

The three traded looks before the older of the two woman, a theelin answered “Everyone has a right to be free, my lady. Slavery is not tolerated.”

I nodded my head. “The Republic has made an error, and I would like to fix it. But to do so, I need your help. This will decide if our way of life is to continue as it is, or if a rather amoral, sadistic, and racist leader is to demand control over everything we know. In this holopad are specification for control chips. I want a solution to be presented to me as soon as you can. A way to deactivate them without harm to their carriers, or even their notice. Sound like a challenge?” I asked as I put the first holopad in front of me.

They all leaned in to look at it, the man letting a breath hiss through his teeth before he said “It will be my genuine pleasure to undo this.” The two girls nodded as well a spark in their eyes that said everything they did not.

I smiled under my mask, but it was heard in my voice as I said “Good. Now, be sure not to work on this in the core. I suggest that until there is a solution, stay in the outer rim or on rather quiet planets in the mid rim.” With my part said I gave each of them a pouch of credits, though I was going to make sure that when a solution was found they were paid far more than this.

“Yes my lady, it will be as you say.” The youngest girl answered. And to show my pleasure I reached out and stoked a hand down the side of her face in thanks. Whatever they had figured it meant, it made her near burst in pride before the three of them left.

And as morning was just around the corner, I knew that it was time for me to leave as well. I had already stayed longer than I would have liked. Picking up the holopad I still had, I went to leave. Thankfully, the business was done with, so no one tried to stop me with some last-minute problem they might have.

Collecting my cloak, I was surprised when my communicator went off. Answering it, I was not as surprised that it was Master Kenobi.

“Padawan, there is something going to happen at the temple. I need you to get back as quickly as possible. Another pair of eyes would be helpful.” He relayed distractedly as he seemed to be half in deep thought and another half annoyed. I had never actually seen him like this, it made me a little nervous to be honest.

“Already on my way, Master.” I answered as cheerfully as I could, even as I took off the voice synthesizer and let it dangle around my neck so that my voice wouldn’t sound strange over comms.

The man gave a sharp nod as he replied “Good, come find me when you get here.” Then the comm was cut off. I let out a sigh as I centered myself and started to think about my moves going forward. I wouldn’t be able to stop by Setter as I had planned, not only because he was not on planet, but I needed to get this formula to the clone medics as soon as possible. Well, I guess that it didn’t have to be me personally.

With a nod to myself, I turned around and waved over the silent shadow. I saw shoulders slump before he moved so that he was walking at my shoulder. “Sir, I was told to keep an eye on you when you went out wearing that attire.” He explained himself tiredly.

“Yes, I imagine you were, and I thank you for watching my back.” I brushed it off with amusement in my voice. And this was a little bit amusing. I was also still somewhat playing the wise roll I had come up with as Lady Nexu. It comforted people if I acted benevolent like that. But I didn't understand why. 

“Any time, Sir!” The trooper said briskly, nerves bleeding out of his form.

I hummed slightly. “That’s good. I have a job for you, trooper, for when you are finished escorting me to the temple. If you are up for it.” I offered. It had been a long night, and I wasn’t sure for how long he had been on duty. But this seemed to be the most expedient path.

“I can handle it, Commander!” He said quickly and confidently. I couldn’t stop a quick laugh that came from me.

“Of course. Here,” I said as I handed him the holopad still in my possession, “this is the formula for you and your brothers to stop the rapid aging. I am tasking you with the job of getting that to all of the clone medics you can. I don’t know how you will implement it, but I think that it is something all of you deserve.”

The man reached out and took the pad as he swallowed thickly. I felt a little melancholy that such a thing had left him speechless. In one point, I was happy because I was doing something good for them, but on another this shouldn’t have even been an issue to start with. I also felt pity, though I took pains to hide that.

None of them would want my pity. It wouldn’t do them any good anyway.

Giving him a slight bow, I reached the temple and watched as he started to walk briskly to where I knew the barracks to be. That was good. He would do as I asked. I only hoped that it would do them all good.

Shaking off the last dregs of Lady Nexu, I changed and made my way to find Master Kenobi. It was time for me to get back into the here and now. No plots or sleight of hand, I had to just be me for a while.

###  Interlude: How Thire Learned to Appreciate Babysitting Duty

Thire was one of millions. He was a clone in the clone army. Though, most had taken to calling it the Grand Army of the Republic. He was under Commander Fox and was a part of the Coruscant Guard. And that meant that he was also one of the faces that the senate saw day in and day out.

So, of course, he was a little miffed when his Commander had put him on Padawan shadow duty. Though, he was professional enough not to show it. Even if that didn’t stop him from looking rather incredulous when given the small file that was set up from the Commander of the 212th.

An informant net, made by a Jedi Padawan, and one that sent said padawan into the bowels of Coruscant. And apparently, said padawan wasn’t used to taking backup with them when they did so. This was a bunch of osik if you asked him. But there were pictures attached and the only reason they were asked this was that the 212th were being sent to resupply elsewhere.

He and a few others were then instructed to keep an eye on the temple in a rotating look out to see when she left. Thire hadn’t thought that it would lead to anything, he hadn’t thought that the Padawan Commander would even leave. But in the tail end of his guard rotation, that was what happened.

The good news was that, as he sent the report to the others that he was tailing her, they were all already in civvies to keep a low profile. Though, it was not nearly as comfortable as armor. It was downright uncomfortable. But he followed as the girl walked into a seedy bar, and then he carefully bought himself a drink and hid himself in the corner as we observed.

Had no one told him the girl was a Padawan, he would have just thought her to be a powerful force in the underworld. These people that came once she was in and interacted with her held her in esteem in a way that he was not used to seeing. No, actually, it was kind of how some of his brothers looked at their Jedi. Awe and as if they could never be wrong.

What was even less comforting was that he couldn’t hear what they were talking about, even as she seemed to hold meetings with a Kaminoan and a few more humanoid beings. Still, he watched and aside from a few sideways glances at him, no one bothered him. That was strange. But the briefing notes had said something similar. They knew about the clone escort, but left them alone. 

Finally, after what felt like forever, he was glad to see that she was leaving. Trying not to draw attention, he followed her out. Never had he expected for her to wave him towards her and never had he thought she would have a mission to give him. Especially not something that was only to the benefit of him and his brothers.

Leaving her at the temple, he quickly rushed off to find their head medic. Highjack would know how to distribute this to the other medics, and he would know how to administer it as well. So caught up in looking for him, he almost didn’t notice when another brother put a hand on his shoulder.

“Thire, what are you doing in civvies?” Rys asked as he brought the other clone to a stop.

Said clone gave out a little laugh before answering “Commander Cody of the 212th had a mission for us. I have some intel I need to get to the medics.” He was being honest, but as all good clones, no as all good solders, he knew not to give away too much as, even though he usually worked with Rys, in this the other clone had not been read into the mission briefing.

“Right, then go on ahead, but when you are done, Blinder was looking for you. So was Fox now that I think about it, but he didn’t order you found or order for you to report to him.” Rys accepted it easy enough before leaving with a jaunty wave.

Thire scoffed before turning the last corner. “Highjack, can I speak to you?” He asked somewhat formally. No matter the rank, everyone knew that medics held the most power. Their word was law, and it was best to never anger them.

“What did you do this time?” The medic asked as he pursed his lips and scanned Thire for an injury that wasn’t there with blue eyes. He was one of the few clones who had a different eye color. Hair color was the most common thing to differ, but to have blue eyes was another mutation that was seen far less.

“Nothing bad. I was given a mission by one of the Padawan Commanders. Can I speak with you a little more privately?” He defended himself as he crossed his arms over his chest but stayed somewhat formal. As formal as a clone could be while in civvies.

Narrowing his eyes, the medic gave a sharp nod and lead the other into what could only be the shard office of the other medics as well. “What have you got, trooper?” He asked as soon as the door hissed shut.

“The Commander has an informant network. One was a Kaminoan, and they gave her the cure for our accelerated aging. Here, she tasked me with spreading it to all of the medics so that it could be implemented.” He answered promptly as he handed the holopad to the blue eyed clone.

He was rewarded when the man’s eyes widened and a dangerous smile stretched over his lips. “Well then, I think it’s time for a new vaccine. One given to all clones when they enter an active battalion. And, of course this will have to be given to all active and inactive clones as well.” The tone used could only be described as predatory at this point.

Thire felt a shiver go through him. “Well, if you have this handled, Commander Fox was looking for me.” He made his excuses as he started inching for the door. A happy medic was a scary medic.

“Yes, yes, off you go.” The other waved a hand distractedly. And Thire got out of there as quickly as he could.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there we go!   
> I hope you like this, and please let me know your thoughts!


	18. How We Lost a Holocron

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nemira gets acquainted with failure. Now she has to deal with that. But the good news was that everyone seems to be acquainted with it this time around.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I totally forgot to mention, 50 kudos and over a thousand hits! That makes me happy. Yes, it was like two chapters ago, but I kept forgetting to shout out and thank everyone who has been reading this! So thank you all!   
> I hope you like this chapter! Thought, it is a bit shorter than the others have been....

When I finally tracked down my Master the sun was shining through the windows of the Temple. I knew that I should have probably gotten more sleep than none, but this wouldn’t be the first time that I had gone without sleep for a significant period of time. I was once awake for three days and two nights. Two days and a night weren’t going to kill me.

But I will admit that I could feel the drag in my limbs that came from a restless night. I shook it off as much as I could as I found Master with Knight Skywalker looking very alertly as they paced down an outer hallway. This was going to be… bad. I could feel that much already. 

“Master?” I questioned as I made my way to him.

Looking up, he almost seemed startled to see me. Strange with how alert he was being. “Ah, there you are. We have been warned by the Force that there are going to be intruders in the temple. We are reasonably sure that they are after our stored data or plans.” He said as he turned his full attention to me.

That was, different. I don’t think anyone had tried to enter the Jedi Temple for information yet. An oversight as we had so much to exploit here, but also not one as we all were trained in the use of a saber after a certain amount of time and knew to defend the secrets we kept here. Still, I had always viewed the Temple as safe. For someone to come in here, it was a strange and upsetting to even think about something like that. 

“Alright, and where do you want me?” I asked carefully as I thought about this, about what I might be able to do about it. Technically speaking there were a lot of targets that an intruder could be after here in the temple. Most of which were not very well guarded. There was the Archives, the battle plans, the communications centers, the relics that were stored here, and even the people themselves. Not to mention there were actually many, many ways to get in undetected. 

Now, no one had ever actually come into the temple to kidnap or assassinate a Jedi, but I didn’t doubt that it could happen. I actually knew of four ways to get in and out of the Temple without being seen, and most other younglings knew of them as well. It was almost like a game to see who could leave the Temple without the Masters and Knights noticing. Everyone played. Even when after we got out we didn't actually go very far. 

“I will be in the central security station; I want you to walk the outer halls and see if you find or feel something amiss. Just in case.” He said strongly. I got the feeling that Anakin had already chosen where he was to go as well.

Still a bit confused I replied “Gotcha. Look around the perimeter and report any suspicious activity.” I hadn’t actually done anything like that before. This might even be a learning experience. And, wasn't Ahsoka also on guard duty? 

So that was what I was doing. I was walking the halls. Not that it was uninteresting to do so anyway. I always felt so small while walking the outer halls of the temple. Unlike the halls near the creche or even the living areas, these were wide enough for fifteen people to stand shoulder to shoulder and high enough that if we were elevated any higher, I wouldn’t have been surprised if clouds formed below the sweeping ceilings. It was all held together by large heavy-set stones, giving off the feeling of protection and security.

It was no wonder that we all felt safe within this temple. Especially as this was real stone and not durocrete. All around us on this planet were metal structures with glass windows. But here we had real stone, carefully and artfully carved to create a home. And for most of us this was the only home we knew. It gave off the feelings of life in its own way.

I sunk partially in the force and let it flow through me. Not deep enough to get visions of the future, but enough that anxiety might be felt from the people around me. I wanted to be able to feel any less than honorable intentions that might be around me. It was something that we all could do, but with how often we were out on battlefields we never could keep it up. It would let us feel the pain, anger, and fear of everyone around us. I couldn't think of a worse way to feel in the middle of a campaign. 

Here in the safety of our home, I was sure that there wouldn’t be much to trigger it. So I kept my feet walking as I looked for any sign of a person being here that didn’t belong.

To my surprise, not long into my patrolling the lights flickered for a moment. That was not common, nor was it particularly uncommon. I couldn’t remember any time outside of a storm of some kind that the lights of the temple flickered. It just didn’t happen. But it was so fast that I saw the few people that I passed shake it off as if it was nothing.

Pursing my lips, I commed my master “The lights flickered. I’m not sure what it means, but it happened.”

“Yes, the scanners were reset. I don’t believe that it is a coincidence. Keep on your guard, Nemira.” Master Kenobi replied only to me.

I let the use of my name focus me and continued to walk the outer halls. Looking for something that was off, something that didn’t belong. I felt as if I was on the wrong path though. I was not sure why though. Suddenly I was being led to the more inner halls around the archives. And I let myself be pulled there as well, trusting the Force to lead me. 

As if giving reassurance that I was going the right way, there was a small vibration, as if something had just blown up. A part of me wanted to call Master Kenobi and ask what was going on, but last I had heard he was in the vents looking for the person who was breaking in. I didn’t want to distract him.

I heard that Ahsoka had found one of the people though, someone had turned their appearance into that of a Jedi. A changeling. I had always been interested in the Clawdite people. Their ability to mimic others looks was fascinating to me. Not to mention that was what my bounty hunter was. And there was a lot of prejudice against them from even their home planet. They were often treated as failed experiments or something instead of people and there was a large movement by them to gain better rights and whatnot. It was very common for a Clawdite to end up as a criminal because of their abilities and the fact that others wouldn't give them legal jobs. 

That thought was quickly struck from my mind as I saw a Jedi walking through the hall I was in. They were in black. Not necessarily something that was rare, but it was synth leather. And there were metal additions to it that would restrict someone’s maneuverability with a lightsaber. Not to mention they had their hood up. Very few Jedi wore their hoods up in the Temple, and fewer while it was on high alert.

Especially not when an intruder had been found in the Archives where they had to have come from.

“Master, I found another intruder, north corridor leading away from the Archives!” I said loudly into my comm as my other hand took out my saber and lit it up.

“Stop right there!” I demanded as I pointed the blue plasma blade towards them.

They seemed to sigh before they flourished the cloak in a way to impede my vision and kicked out. I could have blocked with my saber and cut the limb off, in hind sight, I probably should have, but I was more concerned with bringing him in than disabling him. So I blocked with my left arm and then yelled out in pain as a thruster on the side of his boot activated and blue flames seared across my arm.

It propelled him back just as I hopped back too and ripped off the burning fabric of my sleeve, carefully not looking my skin to see if it was as bad as it felt. Instead I lunched forward and after him, just barely noting that Master Obi-Wan yelled that he was on his way.

I guess that his need to get away was greater though as he had been prepared for me this time. I was ready to take off whatever limb came up to stop me, but not for another elemental attack. He had something like an electric prod attached to his bracer. He activated it and I went down.

By the time I could get into a crouched position, he was already running around the corner and I could not get my legs to cooperate enough to chase him. But all was not lost as I could see Jedi coming in from the way that he came. It was Master Windu and Knight Skywalker along with my own Master.

“That way,” I gasped out, pointing to where the man had fled. I could still feel the occasional zap of electricity coming off of me and the fact that my arm was smoking. The first two went on ahead as Master Kenobi knelt down next to me.

“Are you alright?” He asked as he zeroed in on my hurt arm. Only then did I let myself look at it. All in all it could be worse. Severe second-degree burns, but nothing that would leave lasting damage. But that didn’t stop the fact that it hurt like hell.

So, I carefully stood as I said “I’ll be fine, this should be healed in a few hours really. Defiantly less than a day.” Then I sighed and apologized “I’m sorry Master, I made a mistake and he got away.” My first time fighting a living being, and this was what it amounted to.

“Oh, and why do you think you failed, Padawan?” He asked as he made sure to try and keep me steady. At least by then I could feel my legs again.

“I, well, when he kicked out, I had the option to swing my lightsaber. But instead I thought that I could block and over balance him to subdue him or buy time for you all to arrive. I didn’t know that he had thrusters on the sides of his boots. He surprised me, and got away.” I answered feeling smaller than I had in a long time.

I heard him give a little sigh of his own before his hand that had made it onto my back gave a slight rub of comfort and he replied “You have a compassionate heart. This was the first time your enemy has been more than a droid. The first time that you would be able to cause pain. And so, you chose the more humane and defensive route. Your kindness will serve you well as a Jedi. But in times such as these, I know that you may have to learn to be more assertive in your fights.”

I swallowed thickly before saying “Yes, Master.” While I understood what he said, I also knew that it would be hard. I was so thankful that the war was mostly against droids. That I wasn’t killing or hurting anyone. But I also knew that to protect others, I may have to harm others as well.

With that said, Master Yoda turned the corner, his cane tapping on the stone floors as he did so. “Finished, the chase is not. After Bolla Ropal, the bounty hunter Cad Bane is. Keeper of the Kyber Crystal, the identities of all force sensitive children, he is. Go Knight Skywalker will, to the Deveron System and protect him. You, Mater Obi-wan will look for him here. In case left the planet, he has not.”

“Yes, if this Cad Bane is still on Coruscant I will find him. But first I think I need to drop my padawan off at the halls of healing.” Master Kenobi argued lightly as he started to nudge me to get me walking.

I went without protest, as I couldn’t help but feel that this was my fault. I let him get away. And now he had one of our holocrons.

…

Master Che, the older Twi’lek healer was as brisk and unsympathetic as usual. But with a bacta wrap and a couple of hypos I was pushed out of the healing halls. Really, it was a wonder I wasn’t trapped there until it was completely healed, but at the same time I was right in thinking that by tomorrow I was only going to have a pale patch of new skin.

Hip, hip, hazah for the healing rate of a firrerreo. It was one good thing about this entire event. I was, however, surprised when on my way out I was stopped by Master Windu of all people. He seemed to have been waiting for me.

“Padawan Firrerreo. I understand that you might be frustrated at the moment, however, sometimes failure is life’s best teacher. Moving on I would like for you to meditate on what you have learned from this experience. Understood?” He said not unkindly.

“Yes, Master,” I said with a small grateful smile and a bow. It was nice that it wasn’t just my own Master telling me that it was going to be alright, that I was going to do better next time. It made a part of me feel lighter in a way. Not to mention that Windu was the one in charge of the order at the moment. His words meant something.

With a brisk nod he walked away towards the Council Chambers. I had a feeling that everyone was going to be fairly busy. I smiled after him before turning to go back to my quarters and sleep. Maybe the world would be alright after I had caught up on my rest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And finished!   
> Can you imagine the responsibility of having a weapon that could cut through a limb without difficulty with the slightest mistake or swing? I think it would be terrifying.   
> Please let me know what you all thought about this chapter!


	19. How Trusting a Bounty Hunter Not My Own Never Ends Well

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tracking down a holocron and missing force sensitive kids is no joke. Especially when the likes of Cad Bane is involved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!  
> I got a great comment from Adelphe24 (thank you!) about how she took the suggestion from Windu about meditation as comfort where Anakin would have taken it as a slight. I guess that I think that those who are raised in the Temple and know more of the youngling Jedi teachings would think about it like that. The stoicism of the Masters would make more sense and they wouldn't be looking for an insult with them. I don't know. It was a thought that I had. Mostly as Mace Windu is a very respected master of the order and to do that he must be fairly personable with his fellow Jedi, no mater what Anakin things.   
> So Thank you all for reading, and I hope that you like this chapter!

It was my comm link that woke me up the next day. Apparently, my Master was going to be off to Rodia to try and save a child that Cad Bane was going to try and kidnap. The holocron had been stolen so that he could get a list of all the force sensitive children in the galaxy that the Jedi knew about. And now he was stealing children. Master and Knight Skywalker were both looking to find and stop him. And I knew that I would be getting a full briefing on it later because more than that had to have happened as I had been sleeping.

I, meanwhile, was going to the Negotiator, as it was coming back into the system, and waiting for further orders so that we could meet up and provide back up where ever that might be needed. Waiting to see if we could do anything at all. It looked like the Resolute was taking point for now. And so I made my way to the hanger for pick up! And sure enough, a familiar sight was waiting for me. 

“Good to see you again, Commander.” I heard Boil say as he eyed me up. I could tell that he spotted the blaster that I had at my hip covered by my top and the new skin on my forearm. I was actually wearing a slightly different top now so that the healed burn wouldn’t get disturbed by my sleeve.

It was a navy-blue wrap shirt with sleeves that only went half way towards my elbows. So, the pale new skin was clearly visible on the side of my forearm. Master Che had told me that having it exposed to the air would be best, especially since it was going to be tender for a while.

“You too, Boil. Let me tell you, the Commander might have been right when he said that trouble always seems to find us when you lot aren’t around.” I told him with an apologetic smile. It was only him and Waxer once again on the shuttle to take me up to the flag ship. The nostalgia was not lost on me before I let it go into the Force and focused on the here and now. I didn't need to be distracted. 

“I can tell.” He said as he nodded towards the mark on my arm. I gave him a smile and a shrug. There was no use in making any of this any worse. And I was not telling them a story on how I failed. To think, my greatest talent was that I saw glimpses of the future, and I was caught by surprise. The irony. 

Well, maybe I just hadn’t been listening to the right things at the time. Shoving that thought away and refocusing on what was in front of me, I couldn't help but smile when I saw the Negotiator open up for us to dock on. In a sort of strange way, it felt like coming home just as much as returning to the Temple did. I guess that I had more than one home now.

Disembarking from the ship, I was not as surprised to see that Cody was there waiting for us. He shot off a quick solute before asking “What are our orders, Sir?” As brisk as ever.

I gave him a smile and answered “We are on standby. Master is going to Rodia to see if he can’t get there before the Bounty Hunter. We are really just waiting for him to say where to meet up with him before meeting up.” I internally winced at how that came out.

I was not yet quite as eloquent as my master was. It was a work in progress. Hopefully I would get there eventually.

“Alright, let’s go through all of the checks then,” Cody sighed as I was led further into the ship. And really, it was annoying to be in idle like this. But I could understand the reasons behind it.

…

Things actually got faster from there though. Master Windu came up into our ship before we were ordered to the Naboo System (again, they really liked making things difficult there, didn’t they?) and then Cad Bane was transported in by Knight Skywalker. Of course, I had learned that he and his padawan had lost Bane at first and had opened the holocron for him for some reason that I was not privy to. You know, that made me feel just a little bit better. 

I was content to stay in the corner of the cell as Masters Kenobi and Windu started the interrogation. There as an extra body, but not in the way or talking. Just watching and feeling. It was strange, there are some strong-willed people in the galaxy, but this bounty hunter was very strong in mind.

I could tell that no Force suggestion would make him talk or lead us to the children or the holocron. It must serve him well considering the career path he had chosen.

“We know you’ve taken at least two children. Where are they?” Master Kenobi demanded as he stood over the table and Master Windu circled the bounty hunter like a tiger stalking its prey. Or perhaps he was a panther instead.

“Beyond your reach.” Was the reply he got in the almost gurgling metallic voice. Duro were not a species of being that I interacted with much, but it was strange how his voice was changed to make it form the words we needed to understand.

“Who are you working for?” Master Windu piped up, closer to the man than Master Obi-Wan was.

Defiantly, Cad Bane answered “I work alone.”

I swallowed as I watched them continue to interrogate him. Though, I couldn’t help but realize that this was not something that the two of them excelled at. As the blue man clamped up, we all left the room. The ray shield opening just long enough for us to pass through it.

Just in time as well, seeing as Knight Skywalker and Ahsoka came in. The knight explained “We tore the ship apart. There’s no sign of the holocron, or the kids.” There was a slight thread of defeat in the words spoken.

“Did you check the ship’s navigation records?” Master Windu asked.

Ahsoka took the question on as she replied “They were wiped clean before he landed on Naboo.”

“We’ll have to use the force to make him talk.” Knight Skywalker said with a darker tone than before.

“I don’t think Bane is that weak.” Master Obi-Wan revealed as he was deep in thought. I swallowed again, uncomfortable with this. I wanted to get to the kids, but there had to be a trail somewhere. There had to be another way.

Ahsoka then pondered “Maybe if we all concentrated on his mind together.”

I winced at that and said “That sounds like a good way to melt his mind to mush.” A grimace stole across my face as well. It was not an option I was comfortably with either. Not to mention I had not even started to learn how to use Force suggestion. There was a reason it wasn’t taught to those who were not padawans. The practice could be dangerous.

“It will be… tricky.” Master Obi-Wan added, but he didn’t disagree with either of us.

“Well, do we have any other choice?” Skywalker asked what we all were thinking. Not to mention, the ray shield didn’t actually block out noise. I had no doubts that Bane had heard all of that.

But I stepped aside and watched as they walked in. My mind looking into the currents of Force around me. I hadn’t tried to see anything yet, and so I kind of wanted to see where this might take me as they tried again to Force compliance.

_The Eye_. My mind whispered. I focused on the mid-range with my eyes and let the membranes of my inner eye lids close. I heard it then. Screams of pain. They came from children. Red lights and children of all kinds. Then a voice hissed out “ _foreseen it, an army of Force Sensitive spies under my command_.” It was followed by a more metallic voice “ _young rarely survive the slave conditioning_.” There was a picture of a girl. Startling red hair and pale skin. She was crying out inside of The Eye.

My eyes snapped open then (when I had closed them, I didn’t know) and a gasp was caught in the back of my throat. I took a moment to bring myself back to focus, pushing away the chill of darkness that I could feel. A shiver stole down my spine, but before I could think too much on it, the ray shield was already coming down again.

“He has decided to lead us to the holocron, and the children.” Master Kenobi announced.

I watched then as Ghost Company surrounded the man and started to bring him towards the shuttle that Master Windu had brought up from the temple. We were all careful to follow behind, and I could tell that Cody did not like this plan at all.

“Padawan, I know that you would like to come with, but we know that this is probably a trap. I am taking Commander Cody, and General Windu. You will stay here and wait for our return, or call for reinforcements.” Master Obi-Wan confided as he pulled me back for a moment.

“So, we are on a holding pattern here, again. Alright.” I sighed. I could tell that he didn’t like this any more than I did, but I could also tell that this was to keep me safe. I imagine that my getting hurt while alone hadn’t sat well with him at the Temple.

So instead I didn’t argue as I patted him once on the shoulder and went up to the bridge to stand and wait for orders. Hopefully Master Windu would keep them both safe. And Cody would be on the top of his game. His competence was something that I had seen personally and could rely on. I trusted him with my Master's back. And his lightsaber on occasion. 

…

Knight Skywalker and Ahsoka had come back to the ship in the interim, and then left again to follow a lead. I would have liked to go with them, but I knew that I had to wait here still. At least they finished up cataloging the ship that Bane had been flying.

It was a short time later that I got the comm that the generals and commander were on their way back. With the Holocron but sans the prisoner. Cad Bane had gotten away. They walked into a trap knowing that it was a trap, and although they gained part of the objective, they lost a source of intelligence.

That sucked. But I made sure to keep that feeling buried inside of me as I watched them disembark from the shuttle. I could tell that Skywalker hadn’t been with them as the ship was perfectly fine; not even a scratch on her.

I had lost him in the temple, Skywalker and Ahsoka had lost him on the separatist fleet, Master Obi-Wan had lost him on Rodia, and now Master Windu and my Master lost him on a secret base. When put like that, I didn’t feel as if I failed nearly as badly as I thought I had. Bane was smart. And that was dangerous. This wouldn’t be last that we saw of him.

“I think it’s time we headed back to Coruscant.” Master ordered reluctantly once he was standing on the deck.

I gave him an encouraging nudge “Maybe the lead that your former padawan and his padawan followed up on will bear fruit. They left in a wave of excitement and anticipation.” I tried to reassure him.

“Personally, I would like to know why he was taking the younglings.” Master Windu scowled as he strutted forward.

I paused in my own walking for a moment before I carefully replied “To build an army of force sensitive spies forced into compliance with slave programming. To twist their force alignment until they were nothing but tools to use. Shadows to root out any opposition to the would-be Emperor.”

They both paused in their own walking to look at me. Obi-Wan reacted first as he asked “Did you have a vision?”

Licking my lips in nervousness I replied “Yes Master, just of something that might happen. Master Yoda says that the future is always in motion. If we find the children, it won’t be their fate. Besides, it was a human girl I saw. Not the children who were actually taken.”

“Still, an interesting insight that you have shared with us. I will be sure to keep in mind just in case.” Master Windu said with a nod as he and my own Master seemed to become ponderous in that moment.

I was just glad that I could get that off of my chest. It was a vision that I hadn’t really understood. I had so much foreknowledge from Nicole, and still there was so much that I didn’t know. I had many visions that I just didn’t understand. Like that girl. I knew that should the future go on as it was supposed to, she would be important. But I didn’t know who she was.

It was perhaps one of the reasons that I was Nemira and not Nicole. It made no sense, but I knew from the teachings of the Temple that the future was always in motion and that what I knew to be true, just as easily could be false. Especially as I had never existed in the other time line to my knowledge.

But there were some truths that I would keep with me. I knew that Palpatine was the Sith. I knew that Anakin Skywalker was a shock away from falling. And I knew that soon, I would have to do something about all of this if I wanted to save as many lives as I could.

But for now, I was just a padawan in the scheme of things. Muddling through just like all of the others. And that was okay. It was expected. Dare I say it was normal.

And, to our relief, the children were found by Ahsoka and Skywalker. They were found on the volcanic planet of Mustifar. A place that made me remember some bad things. To think, we had found one of their bases there, and we had no idea about how important that place might be in the future to the dark side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And done!   
> Yes, the visions are getting stranger, and they are pulling from legends cannon. Brownie Points for who you think the vision was about!   
> And yes, that will also perhaps be a problem in the future. Things are adding up. And this is all very stressful for a padawan!   
> Let me know what you think!


	20. How to Balance Duty and Compassion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A side quest leads to a farming village in need of help. This gives the padawans a chance to learn the difference between duty and compassion and the unfair realities of life and not being able to do the right thing at times.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! New chapter, new thoughts, new everything! This time we are looking into the morals of being a Jedi and how it isn't always sunshine and daisies. It's a hard pill to swallow for everyone involved.   
> And this is a longer chapter too! So there is that.

The next time we were sent out, it was to check in a medical facility we lost contact with. But that was not actually my main concern as we were strapped into the standard four passenger Jedi Regulation ship. No, it was the fact that Anakin Skywalker had taken the helm of a ship that was not his beloved Twilight.

“This ship is already scrapped.” I sighed as I tightened the safety restraints but made sure that I could get out if it within seconds as well. It was an art form that we learned through simulations and experience. I hadn’t actually been in a scrapped ship yet, but I had heard stories. Everyone commented on how Knight Skywalker always seemed to be crashing ships.

Master Kenobi let out a very long sigh. “Must you temp fate, padawan mine?” He asked in his best long-suffering way as he too strapped in just in case.

I gave him a teasing shrug. “I call it how I see it, Master, you know that.” I announced and I heard Ahsoka give a giggle from the seat in front of me.

“Hey,” the man at the controls protested, “I’ll have you know, sister padawan, that I am an excellent pilot.” He said with a grin.

I laughed then. “Oh, I don’t doubt it. I just see a trend that happens when you are given a ship that is not your own. It usually ends with said ship in a smoking pile of rubble.” But inside there was a slight thrill of happiness running through me. This was the first time that he had forged a connection between us. The first time he had really accepted that I was his sister padawan and that Obi-Wan was master to us both. That we shared him. We were part of the same lineage. 

“All jokes aside, it is time to go.” The Jedi Master in our midst commanded with a smile. There was a warm look in his eyes, so I guess that I hadn’t shielded my thrill of being acknowledged by Skywalker. No, I had in fact shared it with everyone in the ship. Oops. 

But that was that, we were going through space headed for Felusia.

Felusia was interesting. It was an out of the way planet that was sparsely populated and not a huge boon in the militaristic sense. No, what made it such a fought over planet was the fact that it was one of few places that could consistently grow healing herbs. Sure, there was Bacta but that has nothing to do with it, in most of the other healing remedies and vaccinations one could find the Nysillim plants that were grown on Felucia.

Bacta was actually something created by an insectoid race that lived on the opposite outskirts of the galaxy of the geonociens. It was actually the only thing that they created and traded with the core planets. And it was also still relatively new all things considered. Like a handful of years old.

Nysillim, on the other hand, was well known and had been important to the galaxy for generations. Most cures and medicines were created from some part of the plant. But it was very difficult to grow away from Felusia and a few other places. So it was not surprising that the fighting there was both devastating and seemingly never ending.

Coming out of hyperspace, Skywalker announced “That’s Felucia, dead ahead.” He continued to slow the ship as he did so.

“But where’s the medical station?” Ahsoka asked in concern. “I don’t see anything on my scanners.” And it was true, looking out the windows, there wasn’t even rubble that I could see. But my thoughts were stalled as she added quickly “Wait, there’s something.”

It didn't take the rest of us long to see what she had. Watching, it was like there was a mockery of the medical station there, with the same basic shape, but in all black. And we watched as it opened up and Vulture Droids of all things came zooming out.

“Hang on!” Anakin called as he started to steer the ship off the course that it was taking. I breathed deeply as I did as he said, holding onto the seat that I was on. The droids started to shoot almost right away as we skimmed the atmosphere of the planet in a way that was not advisable. Not only could that damage the shielding if done for too long, but our bodies were not made to go in and our of the gravitational pull. 

“I guess we know what happened to the medical station.” Obi-Wan snarked. But I could feel that he was unsettled by it. As if he had known, but wished for it not to be true. Not that I blamed him. So often we lost good men to this war. A communications malfunction would have been a welcome reprieve. But not one that we were granted. 

Then we were hit and the ship began to spiral. “I hate it when I’m right.” I snarked right back, yes, I was feeling the snark today. It had been a good day, before all of this had started to happen. Now it was a really bad day. 

“They took out the plasma conduit!” Ahsoka announced as she did her best to stabilize the ship and her Master did his best to keep flying it. We started to plummet. Through the dense murky clouds we saw a large rock ridge came into view.

“You thinkin’ what I’m thinkin’?” Knight Skywalker asked as he looked back at Master Obi-Wan with a devil may care smirk. It was not the kind of look I wanted to see in this situation.

Almost panicked, Master replied “Almost certainly not!” But that didn’t stop any of us from reaching for the facemasks under the seats with the clear understanding of what was about to happen. I will admit this was my first ship wreck. But we went through enough simulations that we all knew what to do. Not that knowledge mitigated the fear that was running though me, but it did allow me to concentrate on the learned steps of what to do as your ship falls apart around you. 

I breathed in and out carefully as I gripped the emergency eject lever at the side of my seat. And I did my level best to ignore the needless dialogue that was still flying. I was still nervous about this whole thing and the dread felt like a stone deep in my gut.

One thing that I had learned was that when my Master and Knight Skywalker were around, they both liked to talk. To the point that I was sure they were both trying to get the last word in. Ahsoka seemed to be added into that challenge as well, but I wanted no part in it at the moment.

At the yelled “Now” I pulled up at the lever and closed my eyes completely. I didn’t want to see this. But I could feel it as for a moment air rushed by me before I was enveloped into the safety ball that came from the bottom of the seat.

Plummeting down, I lost track of which way was up or down as it started to bounce. Voices from the others still playing through the comms. Finally, it came to a stop and with a hiss of depressurization, it opened up to let me out. I coughed a little as I ripped the mask from my face and breathed in clean Felucian air.

Not bad for my first crash, if I do say so myself. I was alive, and patting down my extremities, everything was accounted for. 

What brought me to looking at the others was a light chuckle before Anakin asked “You alright there, Master?” I walked over, soon to be joined by Ahsoka as she got out of her safety ball as well.

“I’m fine, Anakin.” He answered mulishly as she seemed to stretch out and let go of the tension he had accumulated during the crash.

“Where on Felucia do you think we are?” My fellow padawan asked as she started to walk forwards a little to get away from out crash sight. It would be good in case someone came looking for the Vulture Droids and found us as well.

A cry echoed in the distance as Master said “I’m not sure.”

“That can’t be a good sound.” I noted carefully as I looked to where I could hear it coming from. Sure enough Knight Skywalker added his few cents in as a small group of Felucian Rancor meandered pass without so much as giving us the time of day. Not that I was complaining as Anakin cautioned us about them. They were at least twenty feet tall. Or so it seemed. 

“We can’t just wonder about here aimlessly. We need a plan.” Master Obi-Wan said, not bothering to moderate his voice, as though he wasn’t worried about man eating creatures noticing us.

“You always taught me to go on instinct, and my instinct tells me to go that way.” Skywalker said as he pointed to the right and slightly in front of him. Almost as if it was a challenge.

Catching his chin in his hand, Master argued “No, that – that doesn’t seem right. I think we should go this way.” He announced as he pointed to a direction ninety degrees to the left of where his former padawan had said.

I withheld a sigh as I looked up and in front of me to see smoke stacks. Then with a roll of my eyes I lightly nudged Ahsoka and jutted my chin over to what I saw before we both shared a smile at each other.

Meanwhile, our masters were still snipping at each other. It’s amazing Anakin learned anything in his apprenticeship with Obi-Wan if this was how he always was. Luckily enough I was saved from interrupting as Ahsoka did that for me.

“Uh, if you two are done arguing, we think there’s some smoke on the horizon. Which means people, and a way off this planet.” She announced as she pointed, and then, without so much as a by your leave, she started to march forward.

I let out a small laugh as I fell into step. Leaving the two guys to follow at their own pace.

…

The two ended up in the front again while we walked. I was too busy looking through the colorful foliage to notice that we were in sight. I was more concerned with what might be hiding in wait. But Ahsoka called out “Look, there’s a village.”

Perking up, Skywalker said “Maybe the have a ship we can… borrow.” Though, he made no attempt to hide the fact that when he said borrow, he meant steal. I pursed my lips, but didn’t say anything as we advanced. Though I did note that it was quiet.

Looking carefully as we entered the confines of the village I asked “These are healing herbs, right?” It was a guess, considering why this planet was so important to either side of the war. But it was a practical one as well as it didn’t look like food or animal feed and this place didn’t smell like an animal farm.

“Nysillim, I believe.” Master Obi-Wan said strongly. “One of the most valuable crops in the galaxy.” They were interesting plants. A thick blue green stalk and a pink spotted bulb at the top. I wasn’t completely sure what part of the crop was considered valuable or if it was just the crop as a whole.

We made it past the first row of huts without seeing another living being when Ahsoka said “This place looks deserted.”

Master hummed thoughtfully and said “I don’t believe it is. The crops are ready to be harvested, tools are lying about. No, something’s amiss.”

“Well, there’s one thing I learned where I grew up.” Skywalker said as we pushed forward. “If you want to know what a farmer is up to, look in their barn.” And then he proceeded to do just that.

It was a strange ship. And then we started looking into the homes. Anakin and Ahsoka had entered one when both myself and Master Obi-Wan seemed to feel the tingle of danger creep along our spines. Carefully we went towards the house to see that the other two were surrounded.

They were bounty hunters. Not my bounty hunters, I could tell that much. But it was the crew led by Sugi. An Iridonian female with a rather high moral ground. She was not one of mine because she liked to do business with the hutts, but really, she was usually more of a mercenary and spacer than a bounty hunter.

Something like this was not out of the ordinary with her or her crew. Though, they had been known to take less than respectable jobs. Usually in between the good deeds she did that didn’t pay nearly as well. My bounty hunter didn’t like her because she always seemed to be where she wasn’t supposed to be. She was too soft to do what was needed as a bounty hunter.

As I was remembering that, Master Obi-Wan walked up and ignited his lightsaber, almost in challenge. I withheld a sigh again as I made my way up as well, my own blue saber out on display in front of me. Two more lit up and we were in a bit of a stale mate.

“Stop, don’t harm them!” A voice suddenly called as a small almost turtle like bipedal being as he passed me and made his way into the center of the hut. “Can’t you see these are Jedi? We are saved!” He announced.

And, okay, that was not what I thought was going to come out of his mouth. And I could tell that was Ahsoka’s thoughts as well as she and I both asked “Saved?” At the same time in confusion.

“Need I remind you, Cassis, you already made a deal with us.” The Iradonian reminded not unkindly, but defiantly not in a way that was nice. Reputations to uphold and all that.

“But, with the Jedi’s help,” the small being continued to press.

It was enough for Ahsoka to get annoyed with her confusion as she asked “Excuse me, but help you with what?”

“Prates,” the being said gravely.

…

So, it turned out that this little farming community was being harassed by pirates and they had hired thugs to try and stop it. It was old gangster insurance situations. Give them a portion of the goods, and they won’t harm them. Don’t, and they will destroy everything and kill the people.

It was not fair. But then, the world wasn’t fair. It was when my master made a jab at the mercenaries and Cassis said that they were easier to deal with that I decided it would be best to speak up on the knowledge that I knew.

“Of course, this group is more reasonable. I’ve heard of them.” I said as I tilted my head and looked at the group one at a time with my eye lids half closed and surety oozing off of me. “You are known for taking half a dozen dud jobs that align with your Iradonian sense of honor and justice before you line your pockets with a nice juicy job given by the Hutts. And rinse and repeat.”

It was partially a challenge, but it was also saying what I knew about them, showing them that I did know who they were. I was not clueless. But I could tell that I hit a nerve as she glared. But Master Obi-Wan put a hand on my arm and when I looked over, I could tell that he was telling me to keep my peace. Withholding a wince, I leaned back and let them speak. 

The story was still being told anyway. Anakin didn’t understand why they just didn’t fight, and they didn’t understand that they could fight. It was why they had bounty hunters. But now that we were here, they expected help. They expected that because we were here, we would help them. And though I wanted to say that we would, I also knew that we couldn’t just stop and stay.

Master said it too when he mentioned that we had to report in. All we needed was a way off the planet, but that was not something that we could get right now. This wasn’t about being kind and compassionate. This was about duty.

We had a duty to the army, we had to tell them about the medical transport so that no one who needed emergency care would be sent here first and perhaps get caught up by a trap as we had been. That was our duty. Also, if we were able to stay here, with how we landed more droids would come and we would just be bringing more destruction down on this small village.

Ahsoka didn’t seem to understand this as we made our way into the night air. She was angry that Master Obi-Wan didn’t seem to want to help. But this was not a mission of truly dire nature. This was the sort of situation that happened all the time whether we liked it or not. There were cases like this across the galaxy, and no one was here to help.

We couldn’t help everyone. There just weren’t enough of us. And maybe I understood this because Nicole had been an adult in a largely populated planet and had seen this over and over again in history. Maybe my understanding was not as normal as it should have been. Or maybe it was because I had read about missions going like this in the Archives when I had sneaked in, and so it was not a new concept to me. So, I held my tongue and let them argue without me.

My thoughts were broken as a child yelled out “Pirates! Pirates, pirates, pirates. The Pirates are back!”

I tensed slightly as we all seemed to congregate around the green fire pit in the center of the village. Whatever chemicals made up the plant fiber of this planet burned an interesting color at least. They came on speeders, rushing through until they were in front of us and the Bounty Hunters stepped forward as if to become the voice of the people. The four of us Jedi took a step back. Actually, I had not expected the prates to come while we were still in the village. This may, or may not, change things. 

I watched silently as the negotiations started. These were weequay pirates. Just like the ones from the mission that Master and Skywalker had been kidnapped by on Florum. And from the familiar way that Master Kenobi interacted as he tried to talk them around too made it clear that they were the same Pirates. Hondo Onoka.

Weequay were commonly pirates or thugs now a day. I could tell from their clothes that they had been in their army for one war or another. I am not sure completely what happened, but when the fighting had been done, the army had been disbanded, and the people had needed to go on to other occupations. A lot are now guards for the hutts. But quite a few more turned to a life of piracy to keep up with that thrill of battle. At least this one was interested as we tried to talk him out of terrorizing this village.

When he said that republic credits was not the currency he would except, I got the feeling that he was just making excuses now. In the interest of seeing if that was true I added “If you lend us a ride off this planet, and leave the farmers alone, well, I might know a place or two where spice is horded. I’m sure we could find some form of currency that will suffice for this.”

“Bah, what would a little kid like you know of currency?” He waved me off, not even thinking that I could be serious. But I had tried. “No one leaves this planet, until I get my 'sillim.” He then made the predicted threats and ordered his men to leave.

I scoffed once he was far enough away, but I didn’t voice my thoughts. He was being paid to be a nuisance here. Why or by who I didn’t know. But it was a good amount seeing as he hadn’t thought twice about Master’s offer.

…

That night had been for from over. Master made sure to tell them strategy, and little things like that, but I could tell that he didn’t really want to endanger them. But bright and early the next day Skywalker had decided that he was going to teach the farmers how to fight. Because of course he was.

Half were learning as the other half were harvesting. I managed to get away by offering to scout the area. Not that there was much to scout on foot if the pirates needed speeders to get to us. With a sigh I closed my eyes for a moment just on the outskirts of the village.

I later wished that I hadn’t.

I saw darkness. There was a miasma in the air, and red lighting coming down from the sky. The people were screaming. There was a crunch of boots and the sound of blaster fire. The huts were on fire. The people, young and old, were trying to run but being shot in the back. The aggressors wore stormtrooper armor. Crisp and white without a shred of paint. I felt fear and death as the cackling of the Emperor reverberated over the vision.

“Padawan,” A voice rushed through the vision and I found myself letting out a gasp before I started to heave.

Once I could see where I was, I turned to see that Master Oni-Wan was there. He looked at me searchingly before placing a hand on my shoulder. “What did you see?” He asked kindly as he guided me up from the slumped position I had found myself in.

“What will happen to this place, in the far future, should the Jedi fail this war.” I answered simply, the words tasting right as they left my tongue. I swear that I could still hear the cackle and the echo of screams.

I could tell that he didn’t know how to react to that, so instead he simply said “Focus on the here and now. You cannot help now if your vision is clouded by a could be future.”

“Yes, Master,” I nodded as I got my heart under control and breathing evened out. His words did make sense. Yes, I had seen something terrible. But I was already planning on something that would change that. Just because my interference had yet to make a difference, didn’t mean that it wouldn’t in the end.

“I know that you said you got a feeling about someone through the Force, but how long have these visions been happening?” He asked once I was centered again.

I thought about that for a moment, organizing my words, before I answered “I used to only get the feeling of having to say something. Just this vague sense of knowing. But lately I’ve been seeing things and hearing things as well. Real visions that overwhelm me of a possible future.”

He hummed thoughtfully before saying “When we get back to the temple, perhaps you and I can meditate with Master Yoda on these visions. Perhaps he can shed of light on what they mean or how you can handle them better.”

I nodded again before both of our attention was caught as Sugi spotted a scout. Of course, it was taken care of, violently, by Embo. But that meant that the Pirates were coming.

And in coming so quickly, we were able to help the farmers.

They say that the Force will provide a solution. In this case, it obviously did. If this was not the will of the Force telling us to help them, I don’t know what it. There is also the saying in the Temple that there is not such thing as coincidences. We were meant to help here, or we would never had been here.

I helped set up the fence before taking my place next to Master Obi-Wan. The fighting came quick and dirty. With tricks and using our environment, we handled the first wave. I redirected blaster shots and defended as I always did.

Then the tank came. Because of course Hondo was going to have a tank. I shouldn’t have even been surprised, really. I rushed to defend the retreating villagers on a word from my Master as he stayed to be the front defense with Sugi. I didn’t like it, but this was where I was best to fight.

It ended as Hondo yelled out from the cliff “This effort… is no longer… profitable!” And as a wave the remainders of his crew who were still alive veered and sped away. Into his ship that was a spinning disk so like the old alien stories that Nicole grew up in. I wanted a ship like that someday.

In the end, the farmers got back to their normal lives. We were thanked, and the bounty hunters offered us a ride off the planet. I guess that all is well that ends well. But I still felt like this was supposed to be something larger than it was. Not that I could put my finger on it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there we have it. Another vision and things are getting interesting. And a Hondo appearance, can't forget him.   
> Please let me know what you all thought!


	21. How to Take a Break

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back at the Temple, it's time to be away from the battlefields for the time being and maybe take a look at why her visions are becoming so vivid.   
> Also, a guest appearance of Yoda.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!   
> This is a somewhat important chapter in my opinion. I wanted to show that something is going on, but at the same time I also thought that Nemira needed a little bit of a break after everything that has been happening.   
> I hope you all like it!

With all of the excitement that had been hounding me lately, it was strange to get locked back in the temple to take lessons and recover. Though, when I say recover, I do mean it. Being a non-human surrounded by humans was not actually wonderful for my immune system. Especially when you consider how much the clones were immune too because of the genetic tampering of the Kamino scientists.

I brought a small flu to the temple. It was called Jenno Flu, and it was something that humans weren’t actually affected by, but near-humans were. It started with sneezing, then came the nausea, and then it ended with my head feeling like it was going to explode. Typical flue symptoms but with sneezing instead of coughing. 

Master brought me to the temple and they basically quarantined me for a week. A week with no one but the healers as company. It was horrible. Not to mention at one point I was a little bit delusional from the flu. It did that too apparently.

But now I was free! They let me out so that I could catch up on classes. I was still on light duty, which meant no commanding and no sparing. But me and learning. It sounds absolutely horrible, but after being sick for a week, I really didn’t mind. Not as much as I should have.

“Ah, there you are,” I was shaken from my studying as Master Obi-Wan came into the side room I had commandeered. It wasn’t like anyone was using it, and there were little alcoves like this all over the temple if you knew where to look. Half of those were also getting dusty. 

“Master?” I questioned as I fixed my posture and set aside the pad that I was looking at. My phone was also out, but I slipped it into the sash I had added in the middle of the blue shirt. It was safe there, and I knew where it was.

“I think it’s about time that we had our meditation with Master Yoda. He had indicated that he was free if we were.” He announced with an encouraging smile.

I nodded my head as I quickly tidied up. “Alright,” I answered, giving a flash of my own smile.

He was waiting for us in another small corner of the temple. A small room with poofs along the ground. There were three in a cluster at the center of the room. One of which held the small green being.

“Here, you are. Ready for joint meditation, I am. To see what you see, young Padawan. Come, come, sit.” He encouraged as he gestured to the poof on his left.

I easily took the seat as my Master took the last one on Yoda’s right. The reddish-brown fabric had less give that I thought it would, but it was very comfortable all things considered. I was also slightly nervous. This would be the first time that I had done joint meditation like this. I wasn’t completely sure what to do.

“Hold hands, we will.” Master Yoda announced. “Focus on the first true vision, you will. The rest handled it will be, by Ob-Wan and I.”

I nodded my head to say that I understood before I started to just breathe and pull my mind back. As I did so I could feel two other presences right next to me. I knew both of them, I trusted both of them, they were safe to let in my mind.

The first real vision had to have been on the Negotiator with Cad Bane. I remembered, seeing myself in my minds eye, that I had been concentrating on why someone would take the children. About what they were going to do with them.

There was a child, a very young child being placed in a contraption. It was like a ball and it closed around her. _The Eye_. My mind whispered. They saw it as well as read lights come down, there were more than one of these balls, and from inside the children started to scream. I could feel that there was pain and fear and all things dark.

I paused as I felt a soothing wash of presence over my mind. It was the masters trying to make sure that I wasn’t too far into the vision, that I didn’t share the pain that the children were feeling. I breathed deeply and sent a wave of assurance before I delved deeper into my memory.

It was a voice. Old and raspy. Not of Count Dooku or any of the others that were a part of this war so far. The hidden sith. The voice hissed out “ _foreseen it, an army of Force Sensitive spies under my command_.” There was something so giddy about his tone as well. It was followed by a more metallic voice saying “ _this young rarely survive the slave conditioning_.”

The vision had ended on a picture of a girl. Startling red hair and pale skin. She was crying out inside of The Eye. But it changed from there. I didn’t remember seeing it, but the vision went on, it showed her as an adult kneeling in front of a shadowed throne. There was no emotion on her face, and she felt neither light, nor dark. It was almost like she was a void in the Force. 

That was finally the end of that. I breathed easier as it was done and I let my mind return to calm. But there was a feeling that if I opened myself up, there would always be something for me to see. For all the times that I let the Force wash over me, to provide nudges, I knew this to be true.

“Seen that memory, we have. On to the latest, show us you will.” Master Yoda’s voice crept over my mind, jarring me only a little as I hadn’t expected him to speak.

I forced my mind back to the memory I had of the second vision. I had only closed my eyes for a moment, and the images and sounds came.

I showed it to them. The darkness, the screaming, that damned cackle. The smell of burning homes and the cold of the dark side. Subconsciously though, I managed to hide the image of the stormtroopers from them. Without thought they just didn’t pop up. As if the force knew that it wasn’t something that should be shown to them. But the cackle wouldn’t stop. It sent shivers down my spine. And a feeling the this was what would happen should the Jedi as a whole fail.

With that over they both withdrew from my mind and we meditated separately for a while. Each collecting our thoughts and feelings, and doing as we must with them. I took a few breaths and let it all go. Once more I reminded myself that it was the far future. It was still changeable. It was not something that was destined to be. 

“Dark your visions have been.” Master Yoda said as he brought us out of meditation. “Rest you have not had. Thin your shields have become. Sleep and meditate, you should. Strengthen shields, make it so visions come only when at an opportune time, it is. Listen to the Force. Guide you in this, it will.”

I couldn’t stop the smile that come from that. He wasn’t telling me to disregard the vision, but to learn to control my shields so that I could control them. It would be bad if I was in the middle of a battle and something like that came over me. It could get me killed. I needed to make sure that they only came to me when I allowed them to. Mental shielding was not one of my strong points, but I understood that I needed to improve it. I could do that much. 

“Your connection to the force is quite strong. It is almost as if these visions come to you as a stream washes over a river stone. Separate, yet always there. When we have time, and your shields are better, we should explore the possibilities it may present. But for now listen to Master Yoda and rest. We have some leave time and I am sure you are happy to get ahead on your Temple studies.” Master Obi-Wan said as he looked ponderous.

“The future, shrouded in the dark side, it has become. Visions you have, too far in the future are they to help us now. Be mindful. Stay in the present, you must. Search your feelings, listen to the Force. Tell us, if visions you have, need to be shared.” The wisest of the masters finished as he seemed to shoo me out the door.

I gave one more bow before I let myself fall into a steady jog towards my room. I had been told to rest. There was no way in this world or the next that I was not about to go head first into my bed and sleep for the rest of the day. Schooling would come after that. And before that I would also do the meditating and mind shielding.

Yes, that would be good.

…

Later that week there were some interesting gossip lines around the Temple. Apparently, in bid to sleep the week away, I missed it as a large five of six-legged beast had been set free in the upper levels of Coruscant and had tried to eat the Chancellor.

It was a pity that it hadn’t worked. That would have solved so many problems.

Though, the roomers also said that Skywalker and Amidala had been there as well. So, I suppose that it was okay as they had gotten away. Sometimes I also wondered if it might have been better for them to have all gotten eaten. It might save the galaxy a lot of drama.

Moving on. I was working on languages mostly. Understanding Wookie (that was not the name of the language, but I didn’t really care) learning to talk the Twi’lek way and learning to read the body language of many peoples and how it changed based on who you were talking to. That last one was important because much like cats and dogs, a single misstep in body language during negotiation could mean a life long feud. 

It was actually all very interesting in my opinion. It beat the poetry class that Master Kenobi signed me up for. I don’t even know why, but it kinda sucked. Don’t get me wrong, I liked a good poem just like the next person. But I really didn’t understand Dug poetry.

The fun part though was that this was truly a break. I didn’t do anything strenuous, and I didn’t think hard thoughts or go out into the lower levels. I meditated, learned, and slept. I hardly even touched my saber.

Ahsoka was there as well. She was happy enough to just veg with me at random intervals. We might have also been asked to help with a few youngling classes, but I always did like those. Younglings were adorable little balls of chaos and disgustingness. But there was something endearing about them none the less.

“Padawan Firrerreo, Padawan Firrerreo!” A little Duros girl chirped as she lifted her arms up to me. Arms covered in finger paint. Let’s just say that I was happy a smock was common uniform in the creche.

Laughing I swooped down and picked her up before balancing her on my hip. “Yes?” I asked almost teasingly. I was also pretty sure that they thought Firrerreo was my name. They were a bit young to realize that the way you addressed my kind was any different than addressing each other.

“We play push ball today, are you going to play with us?” She asked as she smeared green and yellow paint all over the smock that I wore. It was on purpose too as she was looking at her hands as they wiped the colors onto the smock. 

“Of course, I am!” I answered as I bounced on my heels, jostling her and bringing out a high-pitched shriek before she dissolved into giggles.

And I did. If this was what a break was, then I knew that I should take them more often. The younglings were happy to have me, and although some of them were brats, they still seemed to be a balm over the violence that I had been seeing out there.

I wished desperately that what I was doing now would spare them the horrors of war. That they would grow up to know peace.

###  Interlude: How Unsettled, Yoda Became

Yoda was one of the galaxy's many mysteries. He and Yaddle were of a species that the galaxy at large knew little about. They were also old, so very old. Yoda more so than many. He was approaching nine hundred years old.

In his time he has seen a lot. The rise and fall of many Jedi. The paths that the Order has taken. The individuals that are inside of it. He has nurtured many a young soul into learning the path of the Jedi. Another padawan he swore that he would never take, though many he had already taught.

Now there was a different roll he took. The Grandmaster of all. He watched younglings grow. Though he was the oldest, wisest, it was Mace who sat at the head of the council. And he was fine with that.

Here and now he had young Obi-Wan before him as the padawan had left. A padawan unusually strong in the unifying force. Skywalker shown like a sun in the force. Powerful and strong. There was no question that he was gifted. But this new padawan, like her master had said, was a stone in a river.

Nemira of the Firrerreo was not dull in the force. No she shined like a star as did so many others. But her strength did not lie in the power the Force wrapped her in, but the deep connection it had formed to her. It was as if the Force had rooted her within the streams of time so that she may always be surrounded by it.

It reminded the old Master of when the young Mace Windu was shown to see shatter points. To see the endless possibilities that may be, and to see the exact points of where to break them. But these visions were not shatter points. They were the consequences of their actions. It seemed that they warned what the future would be should they fail. A single maybe in the grand scheme of the many could be futures.

But they were filled with truths as well. Fail in the war, and many would suffer. Let the children be taken, and twisted into darkness they would be. Affects of the decisions made now. The long-term consequences. And so clear they were in her mind. Clearer than any vision the master could divine of the future at the moment.

The dark side muddled things a great deal. It clouded and obscured. It hid things. But the things the padawan had seen were crisp and clear.

"Keep appraised of her visions, we should be. Powerful her sight is, to not be clouded by the dark side of the Force. Clearer than any other her visions are." Yoda spoke strongly as his eyes bored into the blue ones of Obi-Wan Kenobi. He who also used to have such strong visions masquerading as dreams.

"Yes, Master," the younger Jedi acknowledged with a bow of his head and a troubled look to him.

Tapping his grimmer stick lighter than usual against the taller beings knees he reprimanded "Always in motion, the future is. Wise your padawan has been to realize that certainty her visions are not. Credit, your teachings give you."

"Of course," the red head nodded in agreement before he too stood and made to leave. Though, it was clear that he was still somewhat uncertain of himself.

Strange how the young master managed to find two padawans uniquely strong in the force. While Yoda knew that Skywalker suffered from his emotions and attachments, he had learned that Nemira struggled more with the lack of confidence and her compassion for all things. Where as Skywalker had shown bouts of anger and possessiveness, the Firrerreo had would back off from an argument too easy and if given half the chance might even find compassion for her greatest enemy.

Troubling were the times when that compassion was counted as a weakness when not a few years earlier it would only have been seen as a strength. He was also glad to note that even as her visions showed darkness, the girl was firmly rooted in the light.

Nearly as rooted as her master was. It was an interesting pair to watch. Obi-Wan and Nemira. They were akin to a reflection. There were plenty of differences between them and their stories, however there were also parallels in personality and thoughts.

To see what the future would teach the two would interesting indeed. Yoda had hopes that he would get to see just that. The new wave of padawans were fierce and light, bringing their own flair to the Order. When the war was over, changes would have to be made. That was certain. Close they had become to the clone troopers, and leave those brave men they would not when all was said and done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that is a wrap. Please let me know what you thought!


	22. How I Finally Build a Droid, or Twelve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time to be productive. If she was going to have a vacation, she might as well put it to good use. Also, let's get a closer look at some parts of the underworld.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A new chapter!  
> Okay, for some reason when I posted last time it never refreshed my fic to the top of the list. I have no idea why, but I hope it was just a fluke and that this will work as it is supposed to from now on.  
> Wish me luck!

My bounty hunter sent me a message. It was a relief if I was honest. I had been waiting for her to contact me for a while now and I was getting worried from the radio silence. The wager had been placed, but I knew nothing else. Of course I trusted her. But sometimes I couldn't help but worry. At any point I could have sent a message to her as well, but something told me that what she was doing was important. That it needed to happen without interruption. 

So I had been careful to manage things myself. And I think that I had been doing pretty darn good at it. I did get the information of the chips and the accelerated aging cure, and I talked with my people. That was quite the bit to do on my own! 

Anyway, the message was just a note that things were going well and that she had a surprise for me when she did finally get back to my side. A good surprise she assured me. One that I would like. It was easy to admit that I was curious, but I decided that it might be a good thing to be surprised. It would certainly make things more interesting here.

But I also had a feeling after reading the note. I knew that it would still be a while before she would be back, but something hummed in the back of my mind that I needed to go down there in my Lady Nexu get up. Something important was there. Something that needed my attention right this very minute.

Giving my excuses to my language class, I quickly changed and came out of the temple covered in my cloak. To my surprise there was not one tail, but two. It seemed that the 212th was out and about and for some reason both Waxer and Boil were on babysitting duty. And they both looked ridiculous in civvies. Like, it was bad. I did my best not to laugh. 

Giving both of them a wave, a wink, and throwing them a few credits that they would be needing, I descended into the bowels. Though there was another thing different today as well. While changing I had grabbed an over the shoulder bag. It was empty, except for a startling amount of credits I also felt the need to bring, so I knew that I was going to be getting something as well. It was probably a good thing we were all landed at the moment. With Master on council business and me having this feeling.

I went to a different bar this time. My regular one had been tapped too many times by me and I needed to show my face elsewhere. This particular place was more of a sports bar. It had a louder atmosphere and the lights were orange. There were also many screens showing many different games and races. As soon as I walked in a runner ran out. I couldn't stop but smile at that.

I did not go to the bar here though, and there was no sabacc table. So instead I took over a table and as soon as I sat the other knew to leave. It almost made me wince that my cover was so well known. It was amazing no one had clocked me as a Jedi or tried to arrest me yet. And I didn't seem to have a bounty on me big enough to get anyone involved.

It only took a quarter of an hour before three familiar figures sat before me. Two females and a male. I had told them to do their research off world. If they were back, then they had to have found a solution. I could feel fierce joy sing through me, but on the outside I stayed almost uninterested. Better not to show anyone how I really felt. I didn't want it used against me.

"Milady, we have done as you asked." The male said as he handed me the data pad I had given him.

I hummed slightly, but didn't look as a rather colorful group passed us. But I also didn't look once they had passed either. "Tell me," I prompted kindly.

"It’s a reset button, basically. A wipe to ‘factory settings’ as it were. But we found the right frequency that will off line them. And it creates a web between chips. If you deactivate even a handful, it will broadcast to the others and spread like an update. And so once one group reaches the home planet with the new update, things should spread to all." The elder female explained in a hushed whisper.

I nodded at that, a weight lifting from my heart. This was a step. A step to saving the clones and the Jedi. The anxious zing of adrenaline flooded my system as I thought this, but still I made sure to show nothing.

"They will become yours, won't they my lady? That's why a few have been following you? It's because they will be yours." The youngest burst out at a hiss.

A chuckle escaped me. "Yes sweetheart," I answered in a croon. I brought a hand up to her face again, and stroked the side of it. A symbol of my affection earned. "They will be a part of us. Keep the information you learned a secret, but spread the word. I claim the clones. They are part of my people." Really, the claim had probably been true the moment that I had boarded the Negotiator for the first time.

The men were my responsibility. Their lives were placed in my hands. No, not placed. They had given me trust over their lives, and I was not going to betray that trust. Just as I did not take lightly the lives of the people who called me their lady.

I gave each of them a large stack of credits discreetly before I relaxed into my seat and really looked over the pad for the first time. It depicted a device that would ring at the correct frequency. It could fit in the palm of a hand. That was good. But it would be better if it didn't need me to do this step on my own.

Locking down the pad so that no one else could read it, I slipped it away in the bag that I brought before adopting a more contemplative pose. My hands folded under my chin that was covered by the voice synthesizer as my elbows rested on the table. The three slicers had left already, but a chair was taken by another I knew was mine. He was looking through the crowd as if looking for a hostile of some sort.

Droids. Small droids with this device built into them. And perhaps a few other things as well. How had Lady Nexu been started? Because I had wanted to learn how to make a droid. And now I had the reason why I needed to know. It would be perfect, and perhaps I could add a few more things just in case. Hopefully I could also make it so that if one was caught it wouldn't come back to me.

"Excuse me," I politely extracted myself from that table, patting the man next to me on the shoulder in thanks as I did. Leaving the sports bar, I saw my two faithful shadows following me at a distance.

But it was not yet time for me to go back to the temple. I needed a few things. I needed more than a few things. But there were some things that I could use from the temple and that they wouldn’t ask me about. If I was careful. Spare bits and bobs, along with a welder and laser cutter was not an unusual thing to request at the moment. They probably wouldn’t even ask about it. But the start of a few AI’s and some high tech specialized equipment was not something that I wanted to have to explain.

Of course, I could have someone else build these guys, but that didn’t feel right. If I wanted everything to do as I needed it to, I needed to make these myself. And that meant that I was going to go through the lower markets. And I was going to go through them in my full Lady Nexu apparel.

I had never been down to these markets before. And from the nervousness I clocked in my two followers, they hadn’t either. The market was interesting. There were food stalls, fabric sellers, and some scrap sellers as well. But what surprised me was that in their own way they all declared who they were associated with.

On one of the stalls I saw dealt spice on the side, there was a point to one of their supports. It was a pike. They were associated with the Pykes. More than that, on one of the fabric sellers who had a man inside burlier than was needed, there was a black ink drawing of a sun. They were a part of the Black Sun. Most could just ignore those little almost casual differences, but my network had taught me well.

Down here you needed to be associated with someone to stay floating. To have no affiliation was to give an almost literal invitation to everyone else around to chase you off. It was just the way that the underworld worked. It was a somewhat small community all things considered, but at the same time it was rather far reaching.

And there, in one of the technology stores, one that I was looking for, there was a cord that split into two hanging from the top right-hand corner. It could be a coincidence, or a snake tongue, but I knew that it was the representation of a nexu tail. This vender was staffed by my people. And so, I walked in with my head held high and confidence almost dripping off of me.

The moment that I passed through the doors, or the heavy curtains that made a door, the young pre-teen Ryn at the counter gasped and called out “Mother Nexu!” I hid my surprise, but I was surprised to see that the Ryn had become mine as well. Though, it made a certain amount of sense.

Ryn were the gypsies of the universe. They had no home or any real allies. They were often looked at in distrust as they were also humanoid, but different enough that it was obvious that they weren’t human. They also for some reason couldn’t sleep in the same place twice. As a people they were rather hated actually.

It made sense that my bringing together of people also included them. I had shown early on that I did not condone racism of any kind from my people. I was glad that some were now accepted among us. So I smiled and said softly “At ease,” to try and calm the excitement and nerves that I saw in him.

Though, the surprised call and brought out another Ryn, they must be a part of a clan that was wandering by for the moment, and an Aruzan with a cybernetic implant near his right ear. Yes, that must have been the stall owner.

“Milady, how my we be of service today?” He asked as he bowed steeply. I would have tried to keep him standing tall, but I knew that it would probably be a wasted effort. Even my bounty hunter bowed when not in the presence of others who wouldn’t understand. It was how they showed their fealty. The reason for that, I wasn’t completely sure about, but I guess that I would just have to roll with it for now.

“I need a dozen budding AIs and a dozen each of these parts.” I answered in a kind voice as I showed them the list I had created on my way in. It was on a piece of flimsy that I had squirreled away for use. I liked flimsy. There was nothing as cathartic as writing something on a piece of paper and not just typing it in.

Scanning the list I saw the man’s eyebrows raise. Questions seemed to be forming, but he dared not ask them. The young Ryn, however had no conniption on asking. “Are you making droids?” He asked as he tilted his head.

“Forest!” The other Ryn, the youngling’s mother I would guess, scolded in embarrassment.

I laughed. A free sound, even through the voice synthesizer. “Yes, little one. A few to slip in where a person would be noticed.” I gave the impression that I was winking as I did a quick quirk of my head to one side. Not that they could see with the hood covering the top half of my face. Then I turned to the woman and said “Worry not about the curiousness of youth. How ever would he learn more if not by asking questions?” It was a comfort to her as I saw the tension bleed out of her stance.

“Yes, we have all that you need here. Let me gather the parts for you.” The Aruzan finally spoke up with an easy smile to match my easy acceptance of all of them. The Force all around us sang in a happy tune. I was glad that I could hear it.

“Have you built a droid before?” The little Ryn asked as he nearly bounced in the seat he was in. It seems that my easy acceptance of his questions meant that he was going to be asking me more questions.

“Yes actually. A playmate for a few children that I knew. Though, that was years ago now.” I answered lightly, freely.

“Was it really hard?” he pressed, and I could see his mother groan as she buried her face in her hands. I almost made me want to laugh as I saw a shadow of Boil pass by the door way of the stall. I know that they didn’t like the fact that they couldn’t see me. But this had to be done. For them.

I pretended to think about the question for a moment before I answered “Not especially. But I had a good reference to start with. How about you?” I asking in turn.

He shook his head almost violently “No, never. But I like dancing more. Did you know we have a dance about you, Mother Nexu?” He asked in excitement.

I was a bit taken back by that. “No, I can’t say that I did. One day, I would be honored to see it, though. Perhaps, fortune willing, I will be able to see you perform it for me.” I answered as I hid my astonishment. I don’t actually think that I had ever interacted with the Ryn, especially not enough for them to create dances about me.

“You use sabacc. It is a card game that was derived from the way that we tell fortunes through cards. But you use it with the sight to know who is yours. To divine what you need. Then your people were so excepting of us. Change is on the horizons, and our dances grow in number. You bring hope, my Lady.” The woman explained the unasked question. I guess I didn’t hide my surprise completely.

I gave her a dip of my head and it was answered by a steep bow from her. I could see through the soft fur on her face that she was flustered by the slight level of difference that I gave her. To be honest I hadn’t known where sabacc had come from. That it came from a way to divine the future had to be another joke of the Force.

“Here you are, milady.” The stall owner said as he came back with a box that I assumed held everything that I had asked for. Placing the box inside of my bag I handed over a pouch of credits, not waiting for them to deny my opportunity to pay as I could feel they wanted to.

Then I gave them all a nod as I turned and left the stall, much to the relief of Waxer and Boil who were most anxious of the people outside. But I did not look to them as I walked away from the market, even more crowded now than it had been when I had first entered. And the reason was making the venders not belonging to me nervous as well. My people were swarming.

But I would put them at ease as I left. It was not their fault that I was here, after all.

…

Halfway back I disguised myself once more before finally reaching the temple. And once there I changed before sequestering myself into a work room and getting down to building my little army of droids. Not a bad army, but mine none the less.

It surprised me to discover that my hair had grown out enough to where it actually got in my way. I slung it up in a messy ponytail and continued to work, but I hoped that they wouldn’t force me to cut it again any time soon. I also had to pin up my padawan braid.

When I was finally done, I had twelve adorable little droids. When in hiding mode they looked like a canister of some kind that was only about eight inches high. When not, they balanced on three legs and had three eyes. I also made it so that though they could plug in like a normal droid, they also had the converters to siphon off electricity from random wires and programs they found. They could point and shoot the frequency at clones as well as run a basic scan to see if they clone before them had already been affected.

The budding AIs were given a few guide lines, to protect life, to help others, and I might have put a little bit of a mischievous spirit in them as well. I named them E1-M1, E1-M2, E1-M3, E1-M4, E1-M5, E1-M6, E1-M7, E1-M8, E1-M9, E1-M0, E2-M1, and E2-M2. E2-M2 was mine as well. Well, more mine than the others. He would be coming with me and making sure that anyone I encountered was given the signal.

I wanted my men to be safe from being rewritten. I wanted them to be safe in their own heads. And more than that, I wanted to make sure that when all was said and done, they were free.

With that done, I nudged the little guys to places where they would get to the right ships. At some point I was going to have to learn binary, but that was on the back burner for now. As it was, E2-M2 was happy enough to get reports from the others, and I was going to try and make sure that E1-M0 got to Kamino. That would be very helpful.

If all future troops were clear, then that would spread to any battalion a few or more went to. It was a relief that something in the Force told me that no one was going to notice this either. They were all going to safe. If this worked. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this is how I am going to try and fix the issue of the chips! Will it work? Maybe. But E2-M2 is going to be more important later on. Never underestimate a droid.  
> Thank you all for reading, and please let me know what you thought!


	23. How to Invade a Planet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The war is picking up again for Nemira as she finds herself in the middle of the fighting once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy! This marks the point where we are over half way through the fic! Hip hip hazah!   
> This is not an easy chapter. And as I am saying that 
> 
> WARNING: background character death and war. This is a battle field and people die in wars. It's kind of unavoidable!
> 
> I hope you like this!

New orders came in. Geonosis was free from the hold of the Republic forces and they were now cranking out more droids than ever from their factories. Somehow, the natives had retaken the planet. A lot of us were being charged with taking it again. So many that Master Mundi was with us on board the Negotiator as we went over the plans for our own invasion.

We were by the helm of the ship overlooking the planet and watching the fleet gather. Looking at the planet from space, I was surprised to note that it looked just as it did on the surface. Orange and barren. It left a sort of bitter taste in the back of my mouth for some odd reason. But I supposed that was to be expected. This was where the war had started. The geonosians were a very large part of the formation of the Separatist movement and they were one of the few peoples who would fight alongside the droids. 

“I cannot believe we’re back here again.” Master Kenobi said with a hint of dread in his voice. It reminded me that he had a personal reason for not liking this particular place. 

“It is unfortunate.” Master Mundi agreed with his vice close to monotone. “The resistance from the native geonosians was stronger than we anticipated.” As he spoke the door to the bridge opened and I saw that my brother padawan and his padawan were back as well. There were three masters, a knight, and three padawans on this front of the war. Seven Jedi in total. Not to mention the Masters at the temple were overlooking the planning as well. 

“The same can be said for their loyalty to Count Dooku.” Master added as he mostly ignored the new additions to the bridge. 

In agreement, the Cerean Jedi Master said “A fact that is often overlooked.”

The mood shifted as Master Kenobi called out “You’re late.” When Anakin came to stand next to him, finally letting himself acknowledge the other man.

“Sorry, Master.” He said breezily, “Ahsoka and I were busy routing the Seppies near Dorin.”

“My squadron alone had 55 kills.” Ahsoka said teasingly as she looked at her master. Like they were having a competition. Not that I would blame them, there were many ways to destress, and making it a game about numbers was one way. It wasn’t as if the droids were living beings.

“Yeah, but mine had 76.” Skywalker boasted as he smiled with a few too many teeth.

Rolling her eyes, Ahsoka muttered “Show-off.” As she let the contest go.

Sounding a bit sharp, my Master said “Well I’m glad you two are enjoying yourselves.” It was a reprimand, clearly, but I could tell that he didn’t understand the need to blow off steam like that. Then again, it was not the Jedi way to blow off steam.

“Hey, it’s just a little friendly competition, Master.” Anakin said with an easy shrug. “Nothing to worry about.”

“What I worry about is the way this war seems to be drawing out with no end in sight.” He replied to that, and I winced as the atmosphere that the other two tried to bring was sliced through like a knife through butter. At the moment I had been staying in the background not really knowing what to say or interject. The topics of conversation had been deep, and I really had nothing to add to it. 

“Which is why it is crucial that our invasion of Geonosis is met with success.” Master Mundi piped up solemnly and yet with an edge of determination.

“Agreed,” Anakin said before he snapped over to his Padawan and said “Ahsoka, contact the Outer Rim command. We’re ready for our briefing.”

“You know,” I said to Master Obi-Wan as we moved to the holo table “I don’t think I have ever stopped to count how many droids I’d cut through.” I was almost thoughtful about it. Wasn’t that distracting? Didn’t it split your focus. I also felt comfortable in bringing it up as we waiting for the command to be ready with the plans. 

Master Obi-Wan didn’t roll his eyes, but I think that he wanted to as he responded “It is not something that I expect you to do.” And I guess that was answer enough.

The briefing was with the Chancellor, Master Windu, Master Yoda, and Master Luminara. We had the holos up, showing everything we needed to know, and to run a few simulations. The Chancellor somehow made himself sound like an idiot and I did not like the plan as it was presented to us. It was a three-pronged spear move through the heavy line where the Geonosians had gathered. Not to mention the landing zone was in an open field that would offer no cover and might be easily surrounded. 

There was no subterfuge or out maneuvering. It was a blunt attack into the position that was deemed the best. I did not like the plan. It seemed designed to cripple us as well as the army that we had brought with us to fight. But I was not a military prodigy and nothing that I said would make this plan any different. I just had to stand tall and do what I could to keep people alive. It was all that I could so as a padawan. 

Cody and the clones seemed sold on the plan at least, and they had been trained for this since they had been created. If Cody didn't like the plan, he would have said something. Or, I hope that he would have. 

I left to prepare then, strapping the small blaster to my waist and hiding it under my shirt with the mini EMP that I hadn’t gotten the chance to use in a real battle yet. I was also back in my tan shirt so as not to stand out very much with the blue. No matter how much I liked it better at the moment. I would change back when we weren’t on a mostly orange planet.

I left with Cody for last minute troop prep work. Mainly I once again put more bandages and bacta patches in the med kits on board and a few extra charges for the blasters, though none should really need them. From what I could see all of the clones were decked out with extra clips and guns. They were ready for this fight. 

Cody was with me for most of it. I couldn’t help but say “We will make it to the landing zone. Not sure about the others, but we will.” I didn’t know if it was a comfort, or if it was foreboding, but he did pat me on the shoulder to show that he was still with me before barking out orders to others. I was left alone as I went from ship to ship in an attempt to shake of the pre-battle nerves. 

We were both ready when Master Obi-Wan came to board his own gunship. We were in a separate one from Cody this time around, to spread the forces and not have everyone who knew the plan in the same sardine can. And that thought also upped the nerves rioting in my stomach. 

“Do you remember the first battle of Geonosis?” Master Obi-Wan asked Cody as we walked towards the gun ship.

“No, sir, I wasn’t involved in the first assault on Geonosis.” Cody answered, and from the way that he spoke I could tell that he was both ready for action, and nervous for it. Or perhaps he didn’t like being separated from us.

In an almost sardonic voice Master said “Well, you didn’t miss much. Last time I was chained to a pole and attacked by several humongous monsters.” I gave him a look for that. I remembered what we learned about it from the gossips of the temple. There were only three monsters, and they ended up riding one of them if the gossip was on point. Also, there was the fact that I remembered the movie. Well, Nicole remembered the movie. Same difference. 

“That sounds…entertaining.” Commander Cody said for a lack of anything else that he could think to say. Not that I blamed him. There was no standard response for that.

“It was…for the Geonosians.” Master replied with amusement before the blast doors closed and we took hold of the hanging bracers so that we wouldn’t fall.

“Sometime, I would like to hear that story in full, if you wouldn’t mind.” I requested as we took off. The pressure wasn’t bad, but it didn’t help my nerves any as the highly awkward yet maneuverable gun ships did some fancy flying.

Obi-Wan laughed lightly “Not to worry. After we get through this, I would be more than happy to tell it.” I took that as a promise as I held on and closed my eyes to feel what was going on and where we were going.

It was loud once we broke atmosphere. The wind bashed against the ship and there were guns firing and things getting hit. Engines whined and whirred, working at capacity as comms were open and being shouted through all around us as well. It was not a smooth flight at all.

It only got worse when Cody contacted us to warn us not to land. But there was nowhere else for us to go. We couldn’t go back to the ship without being shot down, there was only forward. It was all that we could do. And before I could fully think that we were hit and the pilot let out a sound that let all of us know he was hit too. Probably dead. 

“Brace yourselves!” Master yelled, and I felt him cocoon himself in the Force along with those nearest him. I did so as well for the split second that I could before we were hitting the ground. Then something hit my head and I was out.

…

I came to maybe a moment later. I couldn’t tell, but there was a coughing sound and my master saying “Who all is still with me?” He didn’t sound great.

“I’m here, master,” I mustered up the strength to say as I shifted in an attempt to stand up. My left side gave a horrid lurch as I did so, but looking down I could see in the light coming through the slits in the dented blast doors that it was probably just a bruise. My head ached as well. I could only really see as well as I could because of the fact that I could see in the ultra-violet range and I could make the most of the little light we had. 

“CT-45-8326 here, sir.” A man close to me said. He had to be a shiny as most others in our battalion already had a name.

“Trapper, reporting for duty,” the trooper closest to Obi-Wan said somewhat in jest. He was hurting too. Pretty badly from what I could hear.

Then the final call out was “Rai here. Are you alright General, Commander?” I recognized him, not by name as I hadn’t known it, but because he was the field medic of this team and Setter knew him well.

Taking the time to really feel how my body was, I answered “Bruises and abrasions only, they’ll be gone in a couple of hours at most.” It was the truth. It hurt, but it wouldn’t debilitate me. I could still fight just fine.

“Nothing too serious, I don’t think.” Obi-Wan answered, but I could tell that he was not being completely honest about that. Looking over, I could see that he was clutching his side in pain. I pursed my lips but didn’t say anything. Sometimes it was a good thing that I could see in the ultra-violet range, and sometimes it didn’t help matters at all.

Looking the troopers over I asked “How are you three? Able to run if we open the door? Or do we need to wait for help?” Weren’t we a sorry lot? Two hurt Jedi and three injured clones with the bodies of their brothers right there and yet it was not something we could think about at the moment.

It seemed that Trapper was worse off. Rai could walk still, but the shiny was clearly shaken. This would be his first real campaign. We had been on a softer rotation lately. This was the first real taste of battle and war. I wished that it hadn't had to come quite this bad. 

“Alright,” I muttered as I made my way over to the blast doors. But before I could even brace them open enough to peek through, they were being opened by two other troopers. The inner membranes covered my eyes immediately as the dust was roused.

In relief, Master said “Waxer, Boil, am I glad to see you. There’s only five of us that survived I think.” And as if on cue we all got up to a standing position. The two braced Obi-Wan and Trapper and explained that we had a base set up not too far away.

I stood on my own and could feel my side throb in protest, but I ignored it. That would not help me right now. Instead I lit my saber as Rai and the shiny got their guns ready. I was defense. I had to keep us alive as we got to the circle of ships and tanks that I could see as our destination.

I deflected any red blasts that come towards us as back up came and surrounded us, bringing us into the relative safety of the circle. At one point I was using my saber one handed as I grabbed my EMP and shot at one of the speeders coming for a swipe. It fried the circuits and caused it to stop and slam into the two behind it, giving us a little more cover.

And a life lost. The speeders had been piloted by geonosians. That was the first time that I had actually killed a living being. Yet I had no time to think about it as I had to stay strong and defend. I had to keep us safe until this was over. That was what I repeated in my mind as I fought. Even if it was in a daze.

“Are you injured General?” Cody asked almost softly once we made it past the tanks. His concern was easy to read, almost as easy as Master’s pain.

“No, nothing too serious.” He said again as he was placed by a few boxes to be propped up on. Because he couldn’t stand on his own at the moment, and everyone could see that. “What’s the situation here?”

The Commander sighed “We’ve got no air cover, two generals on the ground beyond our position, and a mess of bugs surrounding us. The enemy was more than prepared for our attack sir. They knew our every move.” He said gravely.

My head jumped up a little at that as I watched a medic give a hypo to Obi-Wan. Of course, they knew our every move. Our leader was their leader. The only reason that we won as much as we did was probably because we were so spontaneous and our plans were always changing.

“Well, I’m sure General Skywalker and General Mundi will make it to our position. We’ll just have to make sure we’re still here when they arrive.” Master said with false confidence in his words. I could tell that he was worried as well.

I gave a nod as I went to where the fighting was heaviest and started to send back fire. There was nothing I could do but dodge out of the way of the green blasts designed to disintegrate all that they touched. But I was able to push a few of the men out of the way. I settled into a rhythm.

Block, block, push, shoot, block, block. I was doing my best. And I was aiming my EMP on the enemy tanks closest to us. It wasn’t doing much good, the range was not the best, but it was doing enough. I was doing all that I could do. Even as exhaustion started to drag me down.

I didn’t stop to count, and I never let my attention waver. Adrenaline pulsed through me, keeping me sharp and keeping me moving as I did my best to stay alive and to keep those around me alive. And that was all this was for me. This was survival. Sure, it was also a battle, but the battle was automatically lost if we did not survive.

Then the bugs got close enough to where they were flying over us. And I did my best to get them out of the air as the men were more concerned with the fighting on the ground. I put the EMP gun away and brought out the blaster while still whirling the lightsaber in front of me.

Every shot may not have connected, I was not an expert marksman, but I let the Force guide where I shot and where my saber slashed. I was a bit glad that my Master couldn’t see me as I knew that he had a very low opinion on blasters to start with. He thought they were uncivilized. Though, the clones seemed thrilled that I was willing to shoot at things just like they were.

Still, the tanks were getting hit hard, and we were accumulating heavy losses. Too heavy. We were being overrun. And there was nothing that I could do to stop it. We were pushed back as we made our circle tighter. My blaster put away as my full focus had to be on my lightsaber should I accidentally move it in a way that might endanger one of our men.

I could even see that Obi-Wan was trying to get up. Slowly and painfully as he brought up his own saber. But he was in no condition to fight. Not as injured as he was.

Then a call came over us. “Reinforcements! Reinforcements have arrived!” Bombers buzzed over us, laying the destructive rain over the enemy, and relief had never felt so sweet to me. The attention slipped off of us as they all advanced forward.

But I deactivated my saber and went over to my Master’s side as he slowly lowered himself back down. At that moment the other two teams made it to us as well, and nothing could hide the smile on my face. Even as the sharp canines were bared for the world to see.

We were joined by the other Jedi in short order. The command center being created around Obi-Wan so that he wouldn’t need to be moved until it was time for the medical evac to take him and the other injured to the ships.

As Anakin took care of the shields, I was put on clean up. Or help duty. I was with a squad of men, that included Rai, Waxer, and Boil, who were looking for the downed clones who were still alive. It was not a fun job, but the 212th were on recovery as the forces that Skywalker and Mundi brought could take charge for the moment.

It hurt that so many were dead and there was nothing that I could do for them.

We came across a brother with no paint. He was a shiny, one of the men that the 501st brought. I could tell becasue his armor was white and not the camouflage of the armor that the other two battalions had been outfitted in. And he was not doing good. I knelt at his side as Rai looked him over. “Hey, we’ve got you now.” I said softly as I brought his attention away from the pain that was his legs. He had gotten the tail end of one of the green energy balls. Glancing at Rai, I saw the field medic shake his head.

My lips pursed for a moment before I signaled that he should go on. There was nothing that he could do for this brother.

“I’m not going to make it, am I?” the clone asked weakly as he looked at me. His face still covered by his white bucket. He was a smart one. 

“No, I’m sorry.” I said gently as I reached out and held his hand. I tried to project warmth and comfort. I wanted him to know that he wasn’t going to be alone in his final moments. That I knew he was a person, and that I would mourn his loss.

He seemed to struggle for a moment, I don’t think that he knew most of his legs were gone, meaning there was no counter balance for him to use to pull himself up into sitting possition. “What will happen? When I die?” He asked, clearly afraid as he resigned himself to staying down.

It hit home just how young they all were. “As a Jedi, we believe that we become one with the Force. That we go back to what we were before we were created. Others believe that there is a place for our eternal spirits to thrive in upon death. And others still believe that we are reborn into a new life when we die.” I answered kindly.

“I…” he paused and coughed. “I’m afraid.” He admitted as his bucket tilted fully towards me.

I gave him the warmest smile I could as I said “It’s okay to be afraid. It is only then that you can be brave.” I rubbed a thumb over the black fabric of his covered knuckles. Giving as much support as I could. Not that there was anything else I could do.

He died in my arms. He died, and I left to find where else I was needed. A single touch on the small of my back from Waxer telling me that he was thankful for what I had done. But still, this had to be the worst part of war. Seeing the pain that it leaves behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Done.   
> I am so sorry. I had forgotten I wrote that last part. How rude of me.   
> It's surprising that I forgot about it. I had the first 14 chapters written over the course of like, a year, and then this quarantine hit and in two months I had finished this story. I then sat on it for a while before deciding that yes, I wanted to share it with others. That I still surprise myself with a few sentences here and there is probably a sign that social distancing is driving me insane! Just kidding. I hope. 
> 
> Still, I hope you liked it, and please let me know what you thought!  
> Thanks for reading!


	24. How We Blew Up the Droid Factory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Padawans are given a special mission. It is imperative that they succeed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! A new chapter for everyone to read! I give you the padawans and their struggles today.  
> It's shorter than I want it to be, and to be honest I'm not 100% happy with it. But it is there. And I tried to add some bonding between the padawans too.  
> I hope you enjoy.

Obi-Wan and Master Mundi were taken up for medical care as I was placed in the hands if Knight Skywalker for the moment. The medics had finally gotten around to checking on me and besides some fading bruises there was nothing for them to treat. So I was cleared to continue fighting on planet where as the two Masters needed a dip in the bacta tanks.

Our job at the moment was to destroy the droid factory. It was a fortress of stone and droids and drones. Even just getting near it was going to be difficult. Hard enough as it was, it would have been easier if Ahsoka and her Master weren’t in the middle of a snit.

In light of that, I had been sure to stay as far away from the duo as I could. There was no way that I was going to get caught up in the middle of that. Going so far as getting a few extra supplies and checking in with the 501st to make sure they were fine having a third Jedi at their disposal, the drone of a troop transport caught my attention and I saw that Master Luminara and her Padawan were here.

That was interesting. It meant that there must have been a new plan or point of information that needed to be shared. They had been on the other side of the planet during the initial siege. I had not been expecting to see them at all considering how many of us were already here. So obviously I knew that I needed to be there with the other Jedi to figure out what was going on.

I jogged to catch up, and as I was in view, Skywalker said “Ah, while Obi-Wan is recovering, we also have his Padawan with us as well.” I gave a small bow but didn’t offer my name. I had known Barriss (Master Luminara's padawan) for a while now, and I knew that she knew the social protocol of my people.

“Every Geonosian building has a series of catacombs beneath it that run deep underground.” Master Unduli continued as if she hadn't been interrupted as she moved the holo projector provided by R2 to show what she meant. And indeed, it was almost like a twisting bundle of hollow roots underneath the factory we were set to destroy. That might have been good to know before the battles. Like, if one of the tunnels collapsed, wouldn't that weaken the structure above it?

Barriss took over as she said “Some of the tunnels are close enough to this cliff wall so that you could cut a hole and make an entry point.”

“Once inside,” the green Jedi Master continued “we could find the main reactor, plant the explosives, and blow the factory inside out.” R2 was kind enough to show a red inflating sphere to demonstrate the blowing up part of the plan.

“Oh, looks like a good way to get lost if you ask me.” Skywalker argued mulishly.

I could see the vexed reaction that it caused before both of the Mirialan Jedi composed themselves and Master Unduli said “For the unprepared, perhaps, but I have instructed my padawan to memorize the labyrinth, all two hundred junctions.” It was more of a boast than a comeback, but it was something to be proud of.

That was a lot to remember. I would need at least a week of not stop simulations to memorize something like that. So, consider me impressed. But, Mirialans were often very precise and exceptionally smart. It wasn’t surprising that she was able to memorize all of that. It was part of what made their integration into the wider galaxy such a success when they were first introduced to space travel.

“You always were thorough.” Anakin gave in gracefully. It was also about as close to an apology as he would get.

“It pays for one to be prepared, right padawan?” She snipped back before looking at Barriss.

“Especially when other people’s lives depend on your success.” She parroted. I had a feeling that this was something that they had worked on for a while now.

“How do we keep the Geonosians occupied while someone else is setting up the bombs?” Ahsoka asked as she internalized the plan.

“And who will go with to set up the bombs?” I added. Because from the sound of it, Barriss needed to go. But I didn’t know anything more than that. Who would go with Barriss? Would she need a small company or just a few for back up?

Anakin agreed right away, and very strongly. But it was Master Unduli who had the answer as always. “You and I, Skywalker, will set up the distraction while the padawans go in and ensure the destruction of the factory.”

Oh, I saw it now. It was our job to be sneaky now. This plan made a lot of sense. Even if I didn’t like the idea of the clones and older Jedi playing the part of distraction. But I could still work with this. It would be done.

Of course, we didn’t get ready to go until after Ahsoka and her Master finished their tiff. Not that I was expecting anything less. He was clinging too tightly to her for a Jedi. Nothing was wrong with trying to protect her, but our job was going to be a lot safer than his anyway.

"Are they always like that?" Barriss asked me as her own Master had gone off to do something. She sounded nervous in a way. Not that I blamed her, it was not comforting to see two people who were important to the fighting having an argument in front of the troops.

I gave a little shrug "Not really I don't think. Knight Skywalker is just being a hover master at the moment and Ahsoka thought that she had proven herself enough at this point that he can back off. They'll be fine by tomorrow and it won't impact the mission. Just, give them some space." I answered carefully.

Bariss nodded, not quite settled, but now with a frame of reference to continue functioning by. That would have to be good enough as it was time for us to leave. I got that by the fact that Master Luminara had come back with the detonators. And it brought all three of us padawans to the circle to get ready.

Ahsoka was given the bombs, I was given the trigger, Barriss had the map in her head, and we all synchronized the cryometers so that they would know when the bomb was set. With that, we were ready to go. Barriss took the lead as we started to run out of the camp as some strange Padawan pack.

…

Sneaking down the side of the cliff, I was glad that our enemy was only really looking for large troop movements. As it was, the troops were probably only just behind us to keep the attention away. The firing started before we got to the wall, but once there Barriss was quick to find the tunnel and cut the hole she had mentioned before. I watched our backs as we climbed into the tunnels, and away from the harsh sunlight of the planet.

The air was stale as we ran though, careful not to make too much noise or talk too much. There was a strange sort of knight light filtering in, and I know that my sight was probably the best out of the three of us. Strange thing was that there seemed to be no end of sleeping Geonosians, but not many were awake and patrolling. There were some, but they were easy to spot and avoid. Using the Force to muffle our steps, we advanced carefully, almost unwilling to breathe too loudly.

But something told me that I couldn’t let my guard down. If we weren’t careful, we might gain a tail or alert someone of our presence. When we hit the largest group of sleeping ones yet, Ahsoka insisted on another way while Barriss countered that this was the fastest. Getting fed up I hissed almost silently “Keep talking and there will be no way. Quiet down and move forward! We don't have time for detours.”

Both of them jolted, having forgotten that I was with them, before they moved forward. However, one of the sleeping bugs moved and its hand went on top of Barriss’ head. I was right behind her though, so I carefully moved it while the bug kept sleeping. But the Force whispered that he would be our tail. That he was not so easily shaken.

I would have to be even more careful. I hated this mission already. It was reminding me of that completely horrible adventure I had shared with Senator Amidala. I just hoped that this wouldn't end in us being caught and strung up as bait for Skywalker.

“Left at the next junction.” The green skinned girl said confidently as she turned. But that was a dead end.

“If we make a wrong turn, we may never find our way out.” Ahsoka panicked at a whisper. “You do remember the way, don’t you?”

“Let her think, there are two hundred junctions. Giver her a moment.” I hissed to stall the other girl and let the older padawan think more. She did not need our panic as well as her own. It would not help us here.

It took a moment, but then she said “It’s not left, it’s up!” I breathed easier as we jumped up, I was the last, but I also had a feeling that I needed to wait for a moment. It was like a current up my spine that had me pausing. And sure enough, as I shrouded myself in shadows and the other two pressed on, a drone came flying quietly up.

Without pause I pointed and quickly lit and unlit my blue saber, making a little noise, but not much as I basically punched a hole through the head of the Geonosian. The noise caught the other two’s attention as they looked back in time for me to catch the bug. I then motioned for them to be quiet as I dragged it all the way up onto this level and stashed the body into an alcove I hoped wasn’t going to be used at any point of our mission.

Then I had to paused and breathe in and out so as not to lose what little contents my stomach had. I know I had killed other living beings in the battle. I know that I had. But that had been at a distance. The drone had been so close, a foot away. I had killed him and then caught him so that we wouldn't be caught. And right now was not the time to be falling a part about it! Steeling my spine, I let go of the squirming in my stomach and the uncomfortable sensation that I had done something wrong and I resolved to look into those feelings further when I was alone and had the time to. It was not going to help me if I let them overtake me here.

A few turns later, and another couple of jumps up, and we started to hear and see the factory at work. The metallic clangs and the sounds of steam pistons firing. It was strange. I didn’t like the sounds at all, but they did hide our barely there footsteps even better than we could have done alone.

Finally, we got to the room. “Come on, let’s place the bombs and get out of here!” I cheered almost silently as we got to the main control room. We were half way through out mission.

“Right!” Ahsoka agreed as she passed out the bombs and we made quick work of placing them before arming them. The reactor was a glowing red pyramid with its mirror image on top connected by a stream of energy. It was actually one of the most common designs.

It was just good that there was no shielding on it. That would have caused trouble.

“Let’s get out of here!” Barriss finally said once the bombs were placed.

Without thought we rushed down into the tunnels. We were a bit less cautious this time around as there was an emphasis on speed and getting clear. So we whipped around corners, army crawled past the sleeping bugs, and just ran. Barriss in the lead to guide us on our way.

Of course we were not expecting the moat that we were going to come out of to have falling tanks, but I guess that the other Jedi had to get creative as well. The worrying part was that the explosion woke the bugs that were sleeping all around us. We were almost out when we were spotted and someone called the others with an inhuman shriek.

“Run!” Ahsoka called out loudly, and we did. We ran, and a split second before I was clear of the tunnels, I hit the trigger. There were a few short booms, before a shock wave churned out and everything was collapsing. But we were not about to stay and wait for the stone to crush us. No, we were running across to the cliff face we had climbed down earlier.

The tail end of the shock wave picked us up just as we were half way through the moat and slammed the three of us into the stone wall in front of us. But we had done it. We had blown up the droid factory.

I gave a laugh, even as I staggered to my feet and tried to help the other two. It was just nick and bruises. We were all fine. Even as the trill of having succeeded made all of us a bit punch happy and we exchanged smile and laughs.

“Ahsoka, do you read me?” I heard the communicator on the Togruta’s wrist call out loudly. I was glad he hadn’t tried to contact us while we were in the tunnels, that would have been bad.

“Loud and clear Master. We are out of the tunnels. Might giving us a lift up the cliff? The shock wave was a bit close for comfort.” She answered with an amused voice.

“Not a problem, Snips. I’ll send a few of the boys down there in a transport to pick you up. Good work.” Then there was silence and I sighed happily as I sat back down.

“You did great. I could have never memorized all of that so quickly.” I praised Barriss as I looked at her with a smile.

“It was a good thing you found that scout. I shutter to think what could have happened if we were found and the bombs stopped.” She said with a slight shutter running through her as if to prove her point.

Ahsoka laughed. “We would have found a way. No matter what that factory was going to get blown to pieces.” And really, I could only agree with her.

"I have no doubt. You are good at improvising, right?" I teased lightly. Over the sound of still more rock shifting there was the whine of an engine getting closer.

Ahsoka gave a little shrug "If there is one thing I've learned from Master Skywalker, it's how to make an exit. You wouldn't believe what he gets us into." She replied with humor.

"Really?" Barriss asked, clearly interested. "Your missions must be more interesting than mine. Usually I hang back and help the medics patch everyone up. Master Luminara likes to make sure things are going to go as planned before rushing in. But I admit we don't usually find ourselves facing any of the big players." She said openly.

I laughed lightly at that. "Oh no, from what I've heard Grievous had some sort of obsession with Master Kenobi. Well, him and Ventress. Shoot I think I heard a rumor that Dooku was still trying to recruit him. But anyway, I haven't seen the big three either. Them being Dooku, Grievous, and Ventress. I think my Master is trying to keep those kinds of fights away from me. I'm still young and all that."

"Oh! I've faced both Ventress and Grievous. Gosh, that seems like so long ago. It was my first day of being a padawan and I had to rescue a huttling, and well, it was Ventress who had him. That was terrifying. I thought for sure that I was messing everything up. And if it wasn't for my master and the clones with us, Grievous would have cut me to bits. I'm kind of glad that I don't see them often. Master Skywalker and Kenobi left the two of us behind last time the went off to fight Dooku." Ahsoka said at a near boast. But it was all good. She had survived those encounters where others hadn't. That was worth some praise.

"That sounds horrible! But I'm glad this mission went just as planned." Barriss commiserated.

Before we could continue to gossip and share stories of the worst of our experiences, we were silenced as the troop transport landed near by. The blast doors were open and it was easy to recognize Rex and a few other from his unit. After giving the three of us a once over to make sure that we really were fine, he packed us up to give us a lift away from the rubble. And it was only a brief reunion given to us with Skywalker and Luminara before we were packed up once again.

We were taken back to the flag ships and ordered to rest. With a job well done, the hard parts were over and we were not needed. I did not say no as I saw that my Master was nicely recovered and that everything was in order. All that was left was finding my bunk and sleeping. And believe me, I was out like a light. There weren’t even dreams to distract me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that is all for today!  
> Please let me know what you all thought about it!


	25. How I Nearly Lost My Mind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The padawans are once again pulled together for a mission. But this time there is something even more sinister going on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I'm back with another chapter!   
> And an interlude with Jedi Master Kit Fisto.   
> I like him, he is one of my favorite Jedi.

Sleeping is all well and good. I slept for almost an entire day. Then I learned what happened to the Jedi Masters and Knights while I was asleep. Somehow, they got into more trouble than all three of us Padawans.

Poggle the Lesser got out of the factory somehow when we destroyed it. Don’t ask how, I’m not sure that I want to know. But he had gotten out and Master Unduli went after him. I got the story from Cody, who had been one of the survivors. It was clear that it had been bad enough to affect him.

"Are you alright?" I asked him as we were walking towards the transports to put me once more with the Masters. There was something that they needed us for again, and I had a feeling it had to do with the fact that they had actually captured Poggle while I had been asleep.

Cody breathed out a harsh breath before saying "No, I don't think that I am."

Concerned, I put a hand on his arm and slowed our walk to a stop. He didn't look too great either. His armor was covered in dust and there was a slight tremor to his hands that could be written off as too much time on his feet and not enough sleep. "Can you tell me what happened?" I asked at a near whisper. I didn't want to force anything out of him, but I also wanted to be able to support him as a friend.

"It was a nightmare, Commander. General Unduli followed Poggle to their temple and well, she was captured. A squad went in with Generals Kenobi and Skywalker. Only the Jedi, me, and two of my brothers came out." He started with halting formalities.

I sucked in air as I heard that. It...that just sounded horrible. And I knew how well the clones were trained. For a squad to be reduced to three men meant that something terrible had happened down there. I wanted to push, but I also knew that it might not be the best time to do so. Commander Cody hadn't started walking away, so there might be more that he would tell me.

"There were these bugs. The geonosians, they were dead, but they were still attacking us. Blasters did nothing, and even when the Jedi were cutting them up it hardly seemed to slow them down. There was this Queen bug, and she was using these worm like parasites to control the minds of the dead ones. She was going to use them to take over the Generals too. But, we got out, and we destroyed the catacombs that we were in too. They can't come out and the Queen is dead." He finally let out. But it sounded more like he was assuring himself of that fact rather than me.

And me, I was horrified. Mind controlled zombie bug monsters. I would have flipped had I been in those tunnels. Like, literally flipped. Without knowing what to say I put a hand on his arm and said "I am so, so sorry."

We stood there for a few more seconds before Cody gathered himself up and led me to the shuttle that was waiting for me. We didn't necessarily say goodbye, but I gave his arm one last pat before we parted. I just didn't know if there was anything that I could say to him to make it even a little bit better. 

It was us padawans accompanied by Master Mundi in the shuttle to get planet side in the prisoner transport that would take Poggle back to be interrogated. I was still reeling from my conversation with Cody at this point to really care that Barriss and Ahsoka were chatting it up next to me and Master Mundi was having a conversation with one of his own captains. Cody had been sent a head to the ship on orders to rest from my Master and that was the only reason that I had gotten to speak with him at all. When we landed all four of us were quick to disembark. 

“I’m afraid we have a complication.” Master Mundi said as he came within view of the others. It had all of our attentions snapping towards him. 

“Don’t we always?” Skywalker said drolly.

“I’ve just received a distress signal from our forces on Dantooine.” The master pressed on, ignoring the mouthing off like the being of logic he was. “Master Windu’s defense held, but at great cost to his men. They need medical supplies immediately. We can obtain these medical supplies at the medical station near Ord Cestus.” So that was the call that he was responding to.

“We’re delivering Poggle to Coruscant,” Anakin argued “and Cestus is not exactly on the way.”

Master Unduli stepped forward as she agreed, saying “The Republic must begin debriefing Poggle right away if we’re to get useful information from him.” I scrunched my nose slightly, looking at the strange Geonosian who caused so much trouble.

In my minds eye I saw a space station, deep in wild space. The skeleton of the Death Star. The insectoid beings working until death and after it to complete construction. Construction that would take over eighteen years to finish. Shaking my head, I forced myself out of the vision. My skin was ashen for a moment before I did my best to shake it off.

“Master, I suggest we let our padawans handle the supply mission.” Skywalker found a compromise as he came behind us.

Ahsoka was all for it as she replied “Whatever needs to be done, Master. I’m happy to help.” I was less enthusiastic, but we did all work together just fine when we were blowing up the factory. Barriss also seemed to be inspired by the declaration as she agreed. I simply gave a shrug.

“Very well, take a medical frigate. And after we’ve delivered Poggle to Coruscant, we’ll rendezvous with you for the voyage to Dantooine.” Master Obi-Wan said before he and the others started to go.

But I had to warn him, and I didn’t care if the other masters heard it. “Master, you have to make him tell you about the Death Star.” I blurted as one of my hands found its way on his arm. He looked at me sharply, and I couldn’t help but add “It is a ship the size of a small moon with a weapon that will one day be powerful enough to destroy a planet in seconds. It’s being made with the help of Geonosian drones. Even now.”

“I will be sure to ask.” He said as he covered my hand for a moment in reassurance. Then he turned once more and left for the transport. I let out a breath as I turned to see that Barriss and Ahsoka were already looking for which frigate we could use.

We ended up with a small contingent of clones as well as we boarded the craft and made our way to the bunks. It was an out of the way stop, but it was necessary. The company were veteran 501st if my eyes were correct. The blue paint was so scuffed and there were lines of premature white in their hair. I hoped that they had been given the fix for the rapid aging already. But I wasn’t about to ask. They each also had a faded lion like emblem on them, perhaps speaking to their squad name. 

There was something strange in the air, but I ignored it as the three of us made it to the helm and watched as we were brought into space.

“We are ready to make the jump, Master Fisto.” Barriss said as the coordinates were placed. We were standing in the control room with a video connecting us to the Master who was currently at the medical station we were being sent to. 

“Good, I look forward to your arrival.” The Nautolan Jedi Master said with his easy smile.

And with that done, we went back to the quarters that we had claimed. Well, I say claimed, but the officer barracks were four to a room, and so while Barriss and Ahsoka were in the room, I was kind of camping out in an office like room. With how much I had been resting, I was not really that tired. E2-M2 had survived the battle alongside me, and was happy enough to be my entertainment.

He had been getting reports from the others, and I had my translator up as he was beeping away. Apparently, the others were all doing well and having fun shooting off the chips. Though, there was a competition going for who shot the most chips before the neural net did its job and shut down the rest of the chips around. So far E1-M7 was winning. He had hitched a ride to the 41st battalion. E1-M0 had not managed to get to Kamino yet, but they were still trying. It seemed that they were losing the competition as the clones they were following were doing checks of random bases that didn't hold many clones. 

I giggled slightly at the by play between my droids before I heard the sound of a door opening and closing. Looked like Ahsoka at the very least was bored. That didn’t surprise me. She was just the kind of person who was always on the move.

Honestly, I thought nothing of it. Until suddenly I heard crashes and blaster fire coming from the mess hall. E2-M2 shuttered before going into his inactive mode. In a flash, I was running towards the noise, lightsaber in hand and a sinking feeling in my gut.

“What’s going on here?” I asked as I rounded the corner to see two troopers knocked out and Ahsoka and Barriss pointing their sabers at two others. That was not what I had expected to see when I turned to corner. At the very least I expected maybe an accident or some sort of creature on board.

“These men attacked us and I want to know why!” Ahsoka said challengingly as her saber got closer to the clone in front of her.

“What?” I blurted as I looked to the downed troopers. This wasn’t a chip malfunction, it couldn’t be. The scans had shown that every clone on this ship was free from the chips. They couldn’t be controlled by them. But we had given them no reason to harm them. Granted, I did not know these troopers very well, but still.

“Look, no guns,” one of the troopers compromised as he carefully placed his blaster on the floor. Next to him the other clone followed suit. Sharing a look, the other two padawans deactivated their sabers and straightened from ready position. But they still looked shaken.

“These men wouldn’t just attack us without reason.” Barriss stated as she tried to figure out what was going on.

Of course, that followed with Ahsoka explaining that there were sometimes traitors in the ranks bought off by the other side. But I was carefully trying to look at the clones in front of me. Something was off. They should have been less put together. One of them had attacked a superior officer, even if they had come in with lightsabers pointed at them, there wasn’t enough denial in them, there wasn’t enough of the sting of betrayal. It didn’t make sense.

Barriss seemed to feeling that it was something else too when the first clone interrupted “Excuse me, sir. We should make sure that we are still on control of the Bridge.”

And when no reply came forward as Barriss took charge and tried to reach them on comms, I knew that this was just about to get even stranger. Especially as Ahsoka insisted that we needed to be up there. And the clones decided that one would stay and watch as the other came with us.

I didn’t like this. But it was better to have the devil you know, and if he stayed with us, I could watch him. One against three was not good odds when the three were all trained in the Force. Even if we were only learners still. This entire mission was leaving a fowl taste in my mouth.

We had almost gotten to the bridge when the security shields went up. A humming red field of energy in the otherwise white and black monochrome ship.

“Someone doesn’t want us going up there.” Ahsoka just about growled as a frown creased her brows.

“I’ll attempt to override the controls.” Barriss responded with as she knelt down by the control panel. But I was watching the trooper with us as Ahsoka stood behind our fellow padawan. His face morphed into a smirk and he started to raise his blaster.

“Hey!” I snapped as I brought a hand up and pushed the blaster from his hand with the Force. But that only seemed to take away the predictability as the man’s eyes suddenly rolled back and his mouth opened wide as a green worm like thing slithered parochially out and a screech sounded. He then grabbed me, barring down to overpower my smaller form.

“He’s infected!” Barriss said as her lightsaber ignited and she pulled him off of me and quickly punched a hole through his abdomen as he went after her. The worm flew out of him and onto her, and in her panic she threw it off of her and onto the green blade belonging to Ahsoka.

“Ugh, what is that?” The trogortan asked as she shivered in disgust.

I winced as I looked at the dying thing, fear coiling within me as I recognized it. “A parasite. I was talking to the Commander about what was down in the tunnels of Geonosis. He said that there were worms the Queen was trying to infect the Jedi with so that they would do her bidding. They said that they could animate dead bodies of the Geonosians as well. They must have infected some of the clones while they were planet side.” I explained as best I could from what I had heard from Cody.

“Mind control,” Ahsoka mused before saying “Well that explains a lot. Trap was my friend. He would never have tried to kill us.” Her belief that they would never try and hurt us was heartening. I knew that Ahsoka loved the clones. She would do anything she could to help them, and they would do the same. Orders or no orders.

“We’ll have to quarantine the ship!” The orange skinned girl added with determination lining her stance and tone.

“We should also contact Master Fisto and let him know about the situation.” Barriss added just as determined.

But they forgot about one other thing. “While we are at it, we should also find a way to stop the ship. Just in case we can’t do either of those things.” I added grimly. Then another thought caught me "And maybe we should contact our Masters. If the clones with us are infected, them perhaps a few who are still with them are infected as well." My words caused both of them to widen their eyes at the implications. 

“Let’s go,” Ahsoka agreed, and we were running. But a couple of corners turned, and we heard the clicking buzzing of the language that the bugs used. Trading looks and a few words, we creeped towards the open door and looked in.

It was filled with clones, lagging as they walked and not acting themselves. One of them was making the sounds and holding a green egg in his hand as he approached another clone being held still. This did not look promising.

“We have to help him!” Ahsoka insisted.

But looking, we watched as the worm shot up his nose and he started to move oddly. “It’s too late.” Barriss said in slight despair.

Blaster fire interrupted our watching, and spinning around we saw a clone had snuck up behind us. Because of course one did. Lightsabers out, we blocked the shots as we were herded into the large room with the other troopers. Who promptly tried to force the parasites on us, but those were easily taken care of.

It was a dance of deflecting shots and taking cover, before Ahsoka decided to go into the vents. With Force enhanced leaps we were away from the shootings and traveling through the ship without them following us. Though, I did wonder why they wouldn’t come up into the vents themselves.

“I’ll go to the reactor room and disable the thrusters. You head to the aft-comm center and send a warning to Master Fisto. We have to stop the ship from reaching the medical station.” Barriss ordered, taking the lead as the oldest of us padawans.

“And I’ll head to the aft too and see if I can’t sabotage the engines the hard way just in case.” I added with a grimace. Just in case they had disabled the control panels and the disabling had to be done the hard way. We all started to crawl forward.

Ahsoka looked nervous as she argued “I don’t know, I think that we should stay together.”

“As do I” The Mirialan padawan agreed in confidence. “Unfortunately, that is not a luxury we have right now. One of us must succeed Ahsoka. If you need to, you’ll do what must be done. I know it.” And just like that, I could tell that Barriss was getting close to knighthood. She had to have been.

In face of that faith, Ahsoka agreed and we all split up.

It was hotter the closer you got to the engines. Of course, it was. All ships were purposed by white blue flames. The hottest there were. I was sweating as I got closer. But I had a job to do. Carefully I left the vents and went to the wall. I knew the lay out of the ship. I knew where the important sections were.

With precision I didn’t usually have, I carefully cut through the metal siding that lined the walls. Once I did that I started to dig through the wires. Perhaps I needed to pull on the break wires. Or stop the ignition. Either would work.

But before I could there was a warning from the Force. I spun and ignited my saber once more. There were two clones. They both smirked at me, blasters at the ready. I stood my ground, but inside I was conflicted. I did not want to kill them. And they knew that.

“You won’t hurt us, Commander. Your heart won’t let you.” One said as he took a step forward.

Swallowing I said as strongly as I could manage “I will do what I must.” I was echoing the words that Barriss had told us earlier, trying to find the same faith that she had in them. And as I did, I pushed the saber out towards them in warning.

“Will you?” the other asked mockingly.

It was then that I felt something slimy on the back of my neck. Almost dropping my saber I went to grab it, but that split my attention away from the troopers who advanced quickly enough to pin my arms just long enough for the worm to dive into my nose.

I screamed, but then even more painful than a parasite entering my brain, I felt the mental shield that I had spent my break on Coruscant building, and the ones that had already been there, quake before they shattered.

Darkness would have been a reprieve compared to what I fell into.

###  Interlude: How Master Fisto Tried to Help

Master Kit Fisto was one of the more easy-going Jedi in the order but this entire situation did not please him in the least. Padawans and clones stuck on a ship with a mind controlling parasite was never a good situation. He could tell that Ahsoka was scared, even if she had been hiding it well.

But what bothered him even more was that the padawans were not together when he finally deemed it safe enough to board the ship. Ahsoka had been holding Barriss, who had obviously been infected with the parasites, but the Firrerreo padawan had been nowhere near them.

“Find the clones and the other padawan.” He ordered as he made his way through the ship. And then he belatedly added “Also, contact someone to begin to pack medical supplies on a shuttle or three for when the others come.” It would be delayed, but sometimes delays like that couldn't be helped. Mace and his men would understand. Something like this could not be spread among the ranks. 

Walking through the ship to find the men was another experience. He could still feel flashes of fear and horror. A body of a killed clone outside the bridge with a dead parasite next to it. Blaster marks by the cargo hold. Signs of a struggle in the mess hall with a blaster cut in half and a table flipped. But he and the team with him pushed on.

There were only three dead clones. For the entire ship being infected, that was a low number. It was a tragedy, but the padawans had been fearing for their lives. He knew that the men would not blame them for using lethal force to protect themselves.

The further into the ship they got, the warmer as well. Until he reached the last padawan. She was not out cold like most of them, so, he had heard her before he had seen her. The snapping of joints moving as they weren’t supposed to be moving. A choking sound, and the sound of movement.

The scene they saw was a wall cut into, she had been sabotaging the engine, with her saber deactivated on the floor and her fallen but seizing. Two clones unconscious on the ground and a little away from her. A green worm trying to go in and out of her, but failing. With a thought Kit summoned the worm towards him and sliced through it.

The unnatural movements ended with the parasite gone, but the girl was still thrashing in unconsciousness, her eyes rolled back into her head and something else was happening. The Nautolan could feel the Force running through her, surrounding her in a whirlpool. And he could feel that her shields were completely shattered, both ones she made and the natural defenses of her mind.

Swooping down, he collected her and her saber before turning to the others and ordering “Finish looking through the ship. I need to contact Obi-Wan and see if we can help her. The worms did something very different then just trying to take over.”

The saluted and continued to exercise caution as they pushed forward. Kit found himself power walking to a bed to place her on. This would take joint meditation, and hopefully Obi-Wan was close enough to where he could help. It would be bad to leave her in the state for too long, as they risked losing her to the Force if they did. There was a reason that they taught even those Force sensitives outside of the order how to shield their minds. 

…

The Masters of the Padawans were not too far behind, thankfully. Kit was quick to show Skywalker and Unduli to their charges before he commandeered Obi-Wan and his clone commander to take them to the separate room with his padawan. In case one of the other two woke, he hadn’t wanted to frighten them.

“What happened?” Obi-Wan asked shortly, worry and anxiety building within him.

“Peace, friend. The worms obliterated her mental shielding, and the Force has not been kind to her mind. I felt that a mind familiar to her own would be best to bringing her back into focus and building up her shields once more.” He answered as he placed a steady hand on his fellow Jedi’s shoulder.

Obi-Wan gave a firm nod just as the door opened and they could see the small figure laying on the bed. She was strapped down for her own safety, but that only made it look worse as her usually golden skin was an ashen gray and sweat plastered her hair to her forehead as she tried to thrash.

It was not a pretty sight, and Commander Cody could not stop the small hitch in his steps when he saw it, no matter how good his training. Kit had found that the clones were twice as protective of the padawans than they were of even their Jedi Generals. For one thing the youths endeared themselves better, and for another, they were usually learning just as much from the clones as they were from their masters.

Without much thought or speaking, both Masters sat next to the girl and closed their eyes, reaching out. Once there they slipped in to find the correct mind. In that moment, Kit was very glad that he had waited before trying this himself. Without the other Jedi to ground him, it might have taken longer than was healthy.

The whirlwind of Force surrounding them was bombarding them with images and snap shots of the future. There were screams, a foreboding cackle, the sounds of fighting. And then there was a feeling of wanton destruction. Darkness was filled in these sensations. But every once in a while, there was a spark of light.

They rushed past that, into the center of the storm. The eye of the visions. Both Masters anchoring onto the other to keep going further. That was where they found her mind. It was represented as a small child version of the teenager. She was on the steps of the Jedi Temple, only the temple itself had been ravaged to the ground and smoke billowed from the broken windows.

“Nemira,” he heard Obi-Wan whisper the name, using the fact that he was given permission to use it as a comfort to the mind trying to find its way back.

“Master,” she replied in a small voice. Hazel eyes opened and she looked up, seeing Obi-Wan first before shifting over to see the representation of Kit. She pulled away from them, but only for a moment before she settled again. “They won’t stop. I don’t want to see them, but they won’t stop.” She said desperately.

Obi-Wan knelt to be eye level with her before he said “I know, but you are safe now, and you have to try and rebuild your shields.” It was not that simple, but that was what needed to be done. But before she could even start, they were interrupted.

An image forced itself on them. A large metal circular ship firing down on a planet, ripping up buildings and bedrock and destroying everything in its path. “The Death Star,” the girl said as she looked at the image with eyes too wise for such a young face. Too wise for her normal aged face as well.

“You warned me of it before. But Poggle denied its existence.” Obi-Wan commented. But it did change the image. Suddenly, it was the large skeleton version of the ship with countless Geonosian drones working tirelessly on it in secret.

The image was forced away just as quickly as it showed the Death Star it all its glory orbiting a planet. “Alderaan.” Nemira whispered almost in dread. And with a green laser they watched as it destroyed the world. For a moment millions of voices screamed in fear, before it was silenced by death.

“As interesting as it is, you need to focus not on what you know or wish to know, but on building your shields. If you stay like this, you will be lost to the Force.” Kit forced himself to look away from the other visions swirling about them.

“Yes, Master,” the girl said before she closed her eyes. The whirl of the visions got faster, never staying long enough to really make out, but spinning all around them.

It stopped suddenly as a song came over the mindscape. It was soft and soothing, a deep feminine voice singing a lullaby to a child. But it was in a language unknown to him. But the padawan focused on the voice, on the feeling behind it. Of the safety and love. She focused on that and he watched as the Temple began to right itself. He watched as the visions were pushed away almost as if she was erecting an energy shield in her mind.

Though, she was careful not to trap them. To keep them able to leave. And the shield was malleable enough to where went she looked the visions would still be there. She worked and pulled and constructed.

Finally, Obi-Wan said “Good, you have done so well, Padawan.” He relayed pride as they both took a mental step back before leaving the mind together.

Once out, they watched as the Padawan slowly opened her eyes for herself. Her pallor reaching the correct color again and her breathing evening out. Smiling softly, and knowing that everything was alright now, Master Fisto said “I will leave the two of you to it. Well done.” And he left the room, after untying the restraints, giving a nod to Commander Cody on his way out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there we are done!   
> Is it bad that I keep wanting to call E1-M0 Elmo?   
> Please let me know what you thought!


	26. How the Rug Gets Pulled from Under Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nemira's bounty hunter is back. And this time she is really in way over her head. But, maybe that is alright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big reveal is about to happen here! And I do mean big. This is a turning point in it's own way!  
> Thanks to everyone who has stuck with this story so far, and I hope you like this!

When we finally were cleared to leave the Medical Station, Master and Cody placed me in the med bay and refused to let me leave. In fact, Setter and the CMO of the 212th were addiment that I stayed right where I was and let them take care of everything. It was kind of sweet, and I honestly really was pretty tired after everything that had happened. Mentally more than physically.

So, while I didn’t mind it that much, I did mind the fact that I was then shoved into the Healing Halls at the temple for the next week. It felt as if I had just been free of them, and I was fine. But I wasn’t allowed to look through the Archives, I wasn’t allowed to practice with my lightsaber, I wasn’t even allowed to play with the younglings. Nope, I was stuck doing absolutely nothing even after my shields had been repaired. And I get it, I really do. They wanted to make sure that my mind and brain were fine before piling on the stress again. But, it was so boring!

I know of a few people that would have already planned an escape by now, but I did not want to make enemies with the Healers or the Medics. That was something that everyone should have been very careful about not doing. Not that Master understood that even as he insisted, he was fine while not even able to stand on his own power.

So, in summary, I was resigned to being stuck in bed. It gave me time to try and add Tetris to my phone for those few times that I was really bored. I was already trying to add a translating app to it. But it was while working on it that I got a message.

My bounty hunter was back! And she was looking to meet up with me to tell me something that was very important. That gave me pause. I had to go and meet up with her, I could both feel that much in the Force and I just wanted to see her. But I was trapped in medical. However, I could escape if I wanted to. They weren’t actually looking in on my all that much anymore, and there was a vent right there that was unprotected and big enough for me to crawl through.

Looking around, a thrill of excitement ran through me and a smile curled onto my face. I wrote a quick note on the pad they had left me, saying that I was going out for fresh air, before I carefully put myself into the vents. I crawled along just far enough to get out into an empty hall way. From there it was easy to get into my rooms by acting casual and changed before leaving in my Lady Nexu garb.

It surprised me to see that a member of the 212th were not watching for my exit. Then again, I was probably supposed to be at the medics tender mercies for a while longer. They didn’t think that I would creep out to go to the under levels and meet with some of my more dubious contacts. I hadn't actually broken any rules around them yet.

Well, that was on them.

It was easy to slip through the streets and into lower Coruscant without anyone really noticing, and then into the bar. I slipped into the place and into a seat right next to my bounty hunter, smiling behind the copper vice synthesizer. “It is good to see you again, darling.” I said with happiness behind the growl of my voice.

“My Lady, I bring good news. If we could move this somewhere, quieter?” She asked as she basically bowed to me as she gestured to the privet rooms that this bar provided. I had never needed to use one of them, but this seemed to be a tad more important than the usual meetings that I had here.

Cautiously I answered “Of course,” knowing that whatever was about to be said was going to change everything and yet nothing at all. The rather non reaction from the Force only made my curiosity grow.

She went in first and the moment that I closed the door she used the device on her wrist to scan the room for any signs of tampering or bugs. I let my own senses out to check as well, but there was nothing. Not that I expected anything. For one, I never used these rooms, and two, the barkeep really didn’t care what happened in his establishment so long as you were a paying customer and cleaned up your own messes.

Sitting down, I waited as the bounty hunter sat as well, assured that everything was safe. “You know the large wager that I made?” She asked almost casually. I gave a nod and a smile brightened her human face. “I won. And so I have won you a system, My Lady.”

With that said she handed me a pad with the depictions of the system she was talking about. It was close to hutt space, but far enough that it was easy to see why they felt free to bet it. “Really,” I hummed as if interested as I did my best to hide the drawing revelations and shock that was going through me. For a moment I had thought that I would freeze up as those words made sense in my mind, but my autopilot skills seemed immune to my brain freaking out.

“It is the Cymopha System. A twin sun system actually, a binary star system if that makes more sense. The two stars are close enough that they feed each other spinning around a planet that acts as a way point for the fire and dust. The orbitals around them are not very interesting, except for this one. A gas giant called Urostus. It has 31 orbitals around it, 14 of which are inhabitable.” She explained as I looked it over.

Actually, the system looked absolutely fascinating. The suns were somehow completely stable and equal in mass, though they shined orange and blue with the brown tiny in comparison planet at the center. Then there was Urostus. It was green and large, refracting the light. It was probably beautiful. But the seasons were also very long and the temperature was not prone to much change. There was a planet as well that could be used as a place to live other than the fourteen moons, but it was a dry and cracked thing with no water and not very hospitable.

“This is quite amazing.” I said truthfully as I looked up at the woman, I had known for years now. And still I did not know what was going on. I didn't understand how this could have happened. Since when did people get handed star systems?

She seemed relieved that I thought that as she said “We have already begun colonizing the orbital named Frelmoss. We think that we would make that capital of your fiefdom. As it is, we have all voted you as Queen, My Lady.” With that she got up and kneeled by my side.

Queen? They were making me a queen? And they called this system my Fiefdom? Panic surged through me before I forced it not to show. I had no idea what the hell was going on. Or how this came to be. But this was really no time to panic. Instead I looked at her and cupped the side of her face so that she would look up at me. As she did so, she let herself fall into her root form, showing the tough green skin of the Clawdites.

“You know that I am still young, do you not? Of all things to do, why make me a queen?” I asked softly as I looked into her eyes. My own insecurities were showing, but I trusted her. I trusted her with my life.

She gave me a smile as she answered “I know. At first I didn’t, but then you started to grow. It is why we are all so protective of you. You offered nothing but advice on the future. You asked nothing from us. But you were so sure and you believed, not caring about where we came from or who we were, or even what we were. You offered a rallying point for those who just wanted acceptance. We chose you. And you let us choose you.”

It took my breath away. I had always considered them my people, but I hadn’t realized that was the reason that they came with me. They wanted me for my compassion. They wanted me because I showed that I cared about all of them, no matter where they came from. Clawdites were another group of people who were discriminated against. Them, the Ryn, the non-humans, and even some of the humans around here.

But I really hadn't done much for them. I mean, I threw money around and said what the Force prompted me to. There was nothing really special about that. I hadn't been the best at keeping in touch or even knowing what was going on in my network. But, was it really a network any more? It had spread too far to just be that. And, well, if I was going to be a leader to these people, I would need to step up more than I had. Because now, now I could see that I had more people relying on me that I knew about. And that was daunting in it's own way. But, first things fist.

I brought my hands up and I removed my hood for the first time in her presence. I made sure that my happiness was showing through my eyes. “You honor me.” I told her fiercely, truthfully.

She smiled even more before saying “Then I should probably tell you that we are making a bid to join the Republic as well. Perhaps even get a Senator in there as well.” I couldn’t stop the laugh at came to me for that.

“Yes, now would be the opportune time to do so. They will take anyone who wants to join. They did add Kamino, after all.” I said with a nod. It had been curious considering that cloning was technically illegal in the Republic. But if the Banking Clans and Trade Federation were allowed seats separate from their home planets, it did make sense that the ones who grew the Republic an army would get a seat as well.

“I’m glad you approve, My Queen.” She said to that as she stood. Then she added “I have asked the one chosen to be our Senator if we are accepted here to speak to you. Would you like to meet with them?”

“Yes,” I decided after a moment as I brought my hood back up. But when they came back in, I saw that hood or no hood hardly mattered. Though the visor over his eyes looked natural, he was a Miraluka. A force sensitive race that was born without eyes and ‘see’ though the force. This one could clearly pass for a middle-aged human.

I tilted my head in curiosity, but avoided saying anything yet. It might be rude to ask how he became one of mine on the first meeting. And besides, the Force had provided me with an answer anyway. It gave the impression of broken chains and a surge of freedom.

“Your Grace.” He said as he bowed slightly. “I am Garix Thronway. And I was asked to be the representative for the Senate.” He introduced himself.

“It is an honor to meet you, soon to be Senator.” I said as I gave a slight bow of my own head towards him. “Tell me, what do you think of politics, or the politics of my people?” This was a bit better, I could act as if nothing had shocked me here. Mostly because I didn't know him yet.

Sitting in the open seat next to my bounty hunter, who was still in her root form, he answered “This war is pointless. Even those who are looked at as inferior are welcomed among us. We all have been told that you consider the clones as yours, as soon as you can free them. Our world is a gambling one, already we are creating an infrastructure to bring revenue and people honestly. Our words are May Fortune Favor the Loyal. We are the listeners, the ones who set others free, and the ones who will takes the necessary chances to succeed.”

He spoke strongly. And his words were good. And there was a ring to them within the Force that told me that he believed in them. And that brought pride to my chest. I was young, and floundering, but if this was what a politician from my people looked like, then they were a good people to be responsible for.

“I am glad that our values align. Yes, you will do well in the senate. But be aware, those who speak out the loudest against the war will be targeted. Keep yourself safe so that you will survive the senate in order to make our voice heard.” I warned as best as I could.

“Of course, your Grace.” He replied seriously. And I could tell that form of address was going to stay with me. I guess it was another thing that I would have to get used to.

But first, I had a fourth phone that I hadn’t given out yet but had kept with me. Bringing it out, I labeled its information as Senator and handed it to him. “There is a tutorial when powering it up. This will help you to stay in contact with me, and her. Please, keep me informed and let me know if there is something that I must do to make this easier on you.” I said. It was a show of trust, of deep trust.

He bowed low in acknowledgment of that trust. With a few more words, he left, and it was just the two of us again. I closed my eyes and breathed just for a moment letting everything around me be as I was still.

“You know,” I started after a moment, musing almost as if to myself, “I have never known your name. I consider you to be a close friend, and I have seen your possible futures, and yet I still don’t know it.”

Looking surprised, she answered “I am Zam Wesell.”

“My name is Nemira. And you can use it only when we are alone.” I gave her my own name in response to the trust she gave me. And this was me showing her that I trusted her implicitly. Because I really, really did. Even with the misgivings that most people had when they learned I hung out with a bounty hunter.

We spoke for a few more minutes, and then I left. I was careful to have no tails and to keep away from anyone who might be looking for me. I saw three different clones who were in civvies looking as if they were looking for me. One was Trapper, but the other two were from the Coruscant Guard.

I skirted around them and made my way back to the temple without being seen. There I changed again and went to the Room of a Thousand Fountains. I preceded to just sit and bask in the environment, away from anyone looking for me. And with plausible deniability about where I had been. I was still coming to terms with my new title and my new property.

My bounty hunter, Zam, had earned for me and entire system. A beautiful system, but a large one as well. And I was in charge of a moon filled to the brim in casinos and the like. A gambling city. A revenue grabbing system. And hopefully it will have a better reputation than a few of the other similar planets.

Jedi were not allowed to own anything. Or take up titles other than the ones that they earned. When this came out, I would no longer be a Jedi. I had known this. I had accepted this, but for some reason, this was what was cementing it in my mind. And I still had the data pad that I stashed in my room, I was still going to have to look over it extensively to final out any plans that I made.

They had decided to make me their Queen. They trusted me to govern them, and yet I had only met a few of the people who I could claim as mine. I didn’t even know how many of them there were. And we were going to petition to become a Republic system. I knew that I would have to be better in the future, even if that scared me. And I could admit that this all was very scary for me. I had never thought that this was a possibility of what might happen in my future. But it did open some paths to me that could help even more people.

And above all of that, the Force had decided to do that sensation that I was sure meant that it was laughing at me.

My thoughts were still spiraling as the sound of heavy footsteps coming up behind me. “There are many people looking for you, young one.” A deep and recognizable voice said.

I turned and looked up at the Kel Dor Jedi Master blankly. “Oh,” I said after a moment, “I didn’t mean to worry anyone. There was just something that I had to do.” Truth and sincerity rang through my words. It had been something that I had to do, and I had done it. Even if it put more pressure on my shoulders to do it.

Master Plo Koon hummed deeply though his mask before coming to a seated position next to me. He took a moment to tell my master over comms that he had found me before he focused on me once more. “And yet, you still have heavy thoughts. With your shields so newly constructed, we wanted you to take it easy. The men are worried for you.” He said.

I let out a sigh of my own. “I was tired of the same four walls. My shields are fine now. I just have a lot on my mind, and I have learned some things that I am unsure how to deal with. As much as I feel the future, I never do see my own path as clearly.” I tried to explain.

“Is there something you would like to share with me, young one?” He asked kindly. It was an open offer. With no judgement in it.

I knew that I could tell him, but that would have consequences. But there were also other things that I could say that wouldn’t. I needed to follow my heart. “Sorry, Master, but these are things I need to figure out on my own. If they become a problem, then I will share. But for now, for now I will be fine.” I finally said after the silence got a bit too long.

“I understand.” The Master said. Then we just sat there for a while. Long enough for Master Obi-Wan to come and join us in silence as well. This time I thought more of the visions that I had been seeing. Piecing together what might be important, and what was just darkness I did not need to think about.

Finally, hours later, my mind settled into meditation, a single focus taking over my mind.

The two suns of my system. The orange and the blue, forever twisting around the small planet. Their fire and essence curling around the brown planet, twisting and going to the opposite one and gaining that color. Forever spinning. Light and dark. Giving and taking with a single thing between them. And, it felt like…Balance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there it is! Something I've been building up to slowly. And I really liked writing the ending.  
> Please, let me know what you thought!  
> Oh, and side note, I think that I am going to be keeping up on my posting schedule, but my work schedule is going to be weird coming up and I might not have wifi...So I will try, but if I have to skip an up load, I just might.  
> Thank you for reading!


	27. How Things Get Done

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something horrible gets destroyed, and Nemira has to try her hand at politics.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright! So this chapter. This chapter took me a bit. Mostly cus I was looking at it and what happened in it and I was like, no, I really need to think that through more. So the first half of the chapter, along with the name of the chapter, had to be changed. Almost completely wiped and rewritten. And then I added a scene at the end because the chapter was too short for my liking and I wanted a bit more bonding time!  
> But I hope you like what I ended up with!

They had found footage of a man in Mandalorian armor attacking a Republic ship. Worse than that, the man had killed himself rather than submit to questioning. That all meant that Master Obi-Wan was being sent to Mandalore to speak with the Duchess and figure out what was going on.

And because that was a delicate situation, he was going alone. Add to that fact even more, and it meant that I was with the 212th alone. But it wasn't completely without something to do! I was actually in contact with Barriss over long distance comms because they were on a mission to destroy the skeleton that existed at the moment of the Death Star. Poggle the Lesser had cracked under interrogation, finally, and had revealed that it was more than the vision ramblings of a padawan. So I had sequestered myself away for the moment to be alone as I listened in on the operation. 

I couldn't describe what I was feeling really as the other padawan let me listen in on everything that was happening. She had only actually contacted me because Master Obi-Wan had asked Master Unduli to keep me in the loop so that I knew the visions that I had would not come true. I wasn't complaining though, I needed to know that it was gone. I needed to know that people were going to be safe from the super weapon.

I needed to know if something big could really be changed. If the Death Star could cease to be, it proved that I could really change things beyond a life spared here and there. Maybe it also meant that I really was doing something right as I wiped the chip's programing from the clone troopers' minds. That it was really working.

I really don't know if I could explain how important this was for me. But I listened in anyway.

The skeleton framework had only just gotten set up it seemed. To the point that they hadn't even started to harvest kyber crystals from Jeddah to power it yet. That was good, if only because it would have been a waste to loose that many crystals, and it would have hit the Temple of Kyber hard. The work was being done in an asteroid field near wild space away from any hyperspace lines. To the point that they were extracting metallic ore from the asteroids in order to make it.

Listening in, they sent in the bombers as Master Unduli raided the one outpost that should have the plans on the central computer. Well, the blueprints in any event. I listened for the hours that it took them to destroy every last sign that it had been there. And in the end, the Death Star was not even partially finished. It was just an idea with frame work that might have worked. Something so terrifying rendered to dust.

Of course, now we had to make sure that no one was stupid enough to try and recreate it. But with the Jedi on the alert that it was possible, they should now have a better look out for what it would look like if someone started to try and make it again.

"It is done." Barriss reported as the last of the bombers reported that they were docked.

I nodded my head even if she couldn't see it. "Good. Thank you for keeping me in the loop. I think I needed to hear all of that." I said after a moment.

Though, it was not Barriss that answered, but her master as the older voice replied "I understand completely. When one is given visions of such destruction, sometimes they need proof that it has been taken care of. It was simple enough to contact you."

“Thank you, Master.” I said to her on the comms before I hung up and left the room with my head held high.

If the troopers were confused at my good mood, they didn't say anything as I was quickly included in anything they deemed needed my attention. Both work related or not. I might have still been accepting what was happening, but at the very least it was good to see that the men had my back, if they knew it or not.

Now we just had to wait for Master Obi-Wan to get back from Mandalore.

…

I woke up in the dead of night by my phone pinging that I had messages. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes I was surprised to see that I had messages from both Senator and Shifter. It was interesting that Master Sinube had not been contacting me at all recently, even if he helped in creating the network at the start.

Looking at them, I was shocked to note that the Senate committee that was considering our plea to join the Republic wanted to speak with me as the ruling party of the System. Jumping into action I quickly put up the privacy settings on the room and changed into the spare outfit that I had on hand in case the council wanted me to be Lady Nexu on a different mission.

Then I brought out the secure Comm that my bounty hunter had given me all those years ago. It was older, but it had the option to be a holo comm as well. And it was still encrypted to the outer rim and back. I was confident that it would work just fine.

Making sure that I had nothing identifiable on me, and that my lightsaber was lying on the bed out of sight, I turned it on and sent the signal out where it was wanted. It only took moments for it to be accepted and three other people to be seen, though I knew that more were probably listening in and one was Garix.

“Your Grace, Queen Nexu of the Cymopha System.” the Miraluka greed as he gave a steep bow of respect. The two other senators with him copied the movement, knowing that sometimes shows of respect were important. Especially to the more picky of peoples. 

“I am to understand that his meeting is to decide if our bid to join the Republic will be accepted.” I said strongly, slowly, with only the hint of growl to my voice. But it was clear that I was not confrontational, but firm in my stance.

The human male representative, there was a female as the third and final figure, answered “Yes, your majesty. There are a few things that we would like to go over before considering your bid.” It was slightly formal, but also not too subservient. Good. This person was probably going to be mostly neutral in this debate. They then introduced themselves, but I didn’t bother to remember their names. It wouldn’t help me.

“Of course.” I allowed in a gracious manor. How does a queen act? Especially one like me who started in the underworld of Coruscant.

“Your aspiring senator has stated that you know of the laws of the Republic. But I felt the need to ask seeing as your system is recently purchased from the Hutt territories. What is your view on slavery?” He asked.

That was a stupid question. I knew that Garix had answered that in probably the same words that left my mouth. “I abhor slavery of all kinds. You will find no slave in my domain. Though, you might find more than one of the freed among them.” I answered strongly. Also, I had to stop myself from turning the question back to him. Because he was not ready for that, and my people apparently wanted to be a part of the Republic.

The man nodded as he wrote down a few notes. Then the woman asked “What are your feelings about the War?” That was a question I was expecting.

“I see no reason to have an opinion on it. I am not yet of the Republic. Of course, if we are to become a part of it, I would respect the decisions made by the democracy. However, I would expect my Senator to push for more peaceful methods where conceivable.” I answered in a lazy drawl.

That earned a few raised eyebrows, but they said nothing to it. My system was far enough that it would be unaffected by the war. But it was also held no strategic value either. As I was devoted to my people, not having an opinion on the war was not a surprising thing. Even if it was a lie. I had very colorful feelings on the war. But to voice them would help no one at this juncture in time.

The man then asked “And what does your system have to offer the Rebublic.”

“Money.” I said simply, and then I smiled a smile they couldn’t see as they started. Chuckling slightly, I added “I am sure you already know what the economy of my system runs on. In us joining the Republic, you get a fief, sorry, the taxes that the legitimate businesses pay. Not to mention the distraction that gambling gives to those who need to think on lighter things.” The last part was just about purred.

I could see that Garix approved of my words, even as I was fishing them out of nowhere. I was literally saying the first thing that came to mind and saying it with enough confidence that it looked as if I was perfectly prepared for them to question me. It was horrible.

“What peoples does your population consist of?” The woman asked as she was the one who recovered first.

The question set my teeth on edge. “I wouldn’t know. I haven’t bothered to take a survey about such things, nor do I plan to any time soon. The people of the Cymopha System came to me because I let them feel accepted. I couldn’t count the numbers of different peoples if I wanted to.” And that was truth. I had no idea if I had a mostly human population, or if I had an abundance of others. I knew that we were a varied lot, and that I didn’t care to investigate further.

It didn’t matter. I hated the fact that in a galaxy this large racism was still such an ingrained issue. It wasn’t fair to anyone. I didn’t care what people were, I cared who people were. And I suppose being a near human race, that was somewhat expected of me. Because I could almost coast through as mistaken as human, I saw but did not experience the worst of the treatment.

“I meant no disrespect, your highness. I was simply curious.” I woman corrected herself with a clumsy almost bow.

I let it go gracefully and listened as more questions came. I could only hope that I was not doing a disservice to my people with how I answered. This was all so confusing!

...

When I finally saw my Master it was on Coruscant. He and his former padawan had escorted the Duchess of Mandalore here so that she could plead her case to the senate and remain neutral. Honestly, Mandalore wasn't even a part of the Republic. They really shouldn't have to go through these hoops. If they said no to help, then we as a people should have backed off and let them deal with their stuff on their own.

But it was almost as if they were instead being treated like an unruly child who refused to see reason. I don't know. It didn't really make much sense to me.

In other news, as they had gotten there after us, Master and Cody were quick to join us on the Negotiator to de-stress. The travel over was apparently really bad. Like, they lost some men to assassination droids before getting boarded as the senator of Mandalore threatened to make the ship explode. I was suddenly very glad that I did not have to be there for the excitement.

However, I thought it might be a good idea to take his mind off of everything. After all, I never did cash in on that story that had been promised me. Leading both of them to the fairly packed rec room, I sat them down before turning to my master with a glint in my eye.

He seemed a bit tired, but not overly so. Not enough for me to change my mind about asking him. "So, you promised to tell me about the first battle of Geonosis." I prompted eagerly. And just like that I had the attention of everyone in the room. It was story time.

Giving a slight chuckle, I could see tension bleed out of Master Obi-Wan before he said good naturally "Alright. I suppose I should tell you in as much detail as I can. That was one interesting mission. Never had I thought it would take the turns that it did. And I suppose I best start from the beginning."

"It started with an assassination attempt." He started as I got comfortable cross legged on the couch with the arm behind my back and the back of the couch at my right, all of my attention on him as he sat at the opposite end of said couch. "Not on me mind you, but on a certain Senator Amidala. Anakin was still my padawan at the time, and as we had just finished up a separate mission we were asked to protect her as friends. Naturally there was a second attempt. This time Anakin and I rushed in just in time to see an assassination probe try and speed off. I jumped on it. Not the brightest of ideas, but I thought it prudent at the time."

There was a chorus of incredulous snorts at that, and I even let out a giggle.

"When I got in range of the bounty hunter that had been hired, he pulled out a device and activated explosives he had in the probe. I fell and Anakin caught me with a speeder he appropriated from somewhere. There was a chase after that, until finally we cornered him in an alleyway. But it wasn't so easy. You see, someone assassinated the would be assassin. Right as he was about to tell us the name of the one who hired him no less." He said before pausing.

Wooley had appeared out of no where with a glass of water that was promptly passed into Master Obi-Wan's hands. "Thank you." He acknowledged before continuing. "I sent Anakin away to protect the senator as I took the poison dart that had killed the man and went to discover where it was from. When the database had nothing, I asked an old friend. He told me that it had come from Kamino. The planet of cloners past the Rishi Maze. And he told me of a bounty hunter by the name of Jango Fett. But, back at the temple the Archives registered no such place. There was the gravity signature of the planet, but no planet."

The focus had tripled. everyone in the room was now watching him as he told the tale. I got the feeling that the clones didn't know the story of how they had been found. Though I knew that they knew that the Jedi hadn't known about them at all before my Master had ended up on Kamino.

"Naturally I went to investigate it myself. And imagine my surprise when I landed to find an army of millions there with the Kaminoans saying that they had been commissioned by the Jedi. I went along with it, of course. Until Jango made a run for it. And I followed. I followed his ship all the way to Geonosis. That was when I found the droid foundries and yet another army in the making. I also might have eavesdropped on a meeting with the separatist council. I was caught right as I was sending a message to Anakin to tell the council what I had found." He lamented slightly.

"Who caught you?" I asked with a tilt of my head.

Scrunching his face, he answered "The Geonosians. I was then placed in a cell and suspended as Count Dooku tried to sway me into joining him to end the Sith. When I refused to leave the Jedi he decided to let the geonosians execute me. I was brought out to an arena and tied to a pole."

"Wait, you were serious about that?" Commander Cody suddenly gasped in shock.

"Of course dear Cody. Do you think I would make something like that up?" Obi-Wan asked as he chuckled.

Squirming slightly at the chastisement, Cody said "Well, no, but it sounded like you were joking at the time."

"What happened next?" I prompted, ignoring the by play. The story was just getting good.

"So, there I was, tied to a pole and waiting for whatever is about to happen, and what comes through the gate but a chariot with my padawan and the senator inside of it. And of course they too are tied to the poles. Then they let loose the monsters. It was a nexu for the senator, a reek for Anakin, and a acklay for me. Of course, Padme was on top of things in short order. She got one of her wrists out of the cuffs and had scaled the pole to the top. Meanwhile Anakin and I were stuck with dodging and staying out of the way. Finally, Anakin ended up riding the Reek and with his help we got rid of the other two. Just as they were about to start shooting at us, the Jedi come out of hiding." He continued his story.

"So there we were, fighting what seemed to be every geonosian on the planet, and we were being over run. And what came from the sky but the troop transports filled with troopers and Master Yoda. From there it was a full siege of the planet. And I am sure you all know what happened next." He finished with a smirk.

I blinked slightly. "Wow, I am so glad my luck is better than yours so far. No one has tried to publicly execute me yet." I found myself saying before I could stop myself.

I heard a snort from the trooper next to me. "That explains how we were found the day before the war started. It always seemed as if things escalated quickly."

"I didn't mean for it to end up like that. Sometimes it just happens as the Force wills it to." Master Obi-Wan said to try and justify his strange luck.

Not that it was going to fly. I burst out laughing as Cody said "With all due respect General, but as the Force wills it is not a viable excuse. Next time use more caution. You already get captured by the other side enough as it is."

We all descended into petty squabbling after that. A light hearted vibe draping over the ship and comforting us in a way that so few things did anymore. We stayed up late that night, but the next day we picked ourselves up and moved on. There was work to be done and a war to win. Unfortunately, neither of those things waited on us.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And done! No more death star, and talks with people.   
> Is it surprising that no one has figured out she doesn't have a clue what she is doing?   
> And yes, Obi-Wan just told the plot of the second movie in his own words. If you don't like it, whatever. I thought it would be an interesting point of view kind of things, and I have this feeling that the clones never really knew about this or asked about it. So I wanted to inform them.   
> Please let me know what you thought!


	28. How to Protect a Planet from an Attack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Separatist plot to attack Kamino has been discovered! Now they must scramble to protect the planet!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Here is the next chapter!   
> I hope that you like it!

With how much I had been away from the fighting and stuck at the temple, it didn’t surprise me that while Ahsoka was busy with catching up on Temple classes, I was with Master Obi-Wan and Knight Skywalker this time around. It did surprise me that we were on the Resolute and not the Negotiator though. With only Commander Cody from the 212th. Not that there was anything wrong with that. Bust usually ghost company accompanied us to where ever we needed to go. 

At this current moment, we were around the holotable as there was a sort of briefing going on. There was a signal intercepted. And we were figuring out if we needed to act. I had a feeling that this wasn’t usually how armies were commanded. But, what do you want when you have Jedi, mostly solo peace keepers, leading thousands of people at a time?

“We are decrypting the audio, sir.” A softshell communications specialist said as he fiddled with the transmission.

The table sparked to life and a figure appeared. There was a woman with her cloak covering her face and her almost sultry sounding voice saying “The clone planet of Kamino will be a dangerous target.”

“Just make sure you hold up your half of the mission.” General Grievous had retorted with his rough, grating voice. Though we didn't see him there was no mistaking that voice. “We must stop the production of new clones if we are to win this war.”

“Kanimo.” Skywalker said with meaning. What meaning he was trying to convey, I was unsure, but it sounded ominous in a way.

“There going to attack our home planet.” Captain Rex noted without trying to conceal the fury on his face. I could see that fury echoed in Commander Cody and every clone who had heard the transmission.

“The Separatists are taking quite the chance even considering this.” Master Obi-Wan mused as he had a hand up to his beard in thought.

Captain Rex then interrupted as he said “With all due respect, General, if someone comes to our home, they better be carrying a big blaster.” His voice was low and almost dangerous with the feeling he was conveying.

“I concur with Captain Rex, sir. This is personal for us clones.” Commander Cody finally spoke up, at a volume slightly louder than Rex but with a voice not quite as menacing. I wondered for a second if they really thought of Kamino as a home or if this was because the youngest of their brothers were there and it was, in essence, the only home that they knew.

“We’ll make sure Kamino is secure.” Skywalker assured them firmly. “Tell your troopers in the 501st, they’re going home.”

“Yes, sir!” They both snapped to attention before leaving to do just that.

I shared a look with my master as he was still deep in thought, preparing for what was to come. This was either a bold move by the Separatists, or it was a diversion of some kind. Perhaps the transmission had been intercepted, but perhaps it was meant to be intercepted. Things didn’t add up completely. Diving a small dip of my head, I went to get ready as well.

Most importantly, I needed to make sure that E2-M2 was ready for the new challenge.

…

It was raining as we landed on Kamino. Something that I was assured was completely normal, even expected with the almost fond regards the troopers gave it. Topica City was made up of large towers that reminded me almost of mushrooms in how they had long stems and flared tops. Not that I was going to share that observation with anyone. Ever.

It was surrounded by water, ocean as far as the eye could see with waves almost as big as the Negotiator crashing into itself and the buildings. With the storm clouds over head, the entire place looked grey and almost lifeless. And yet the ocean and the buildings were packed with life forms from what I could feel in the Force.

We exited the ship with me right behind the two generals and Rex and Cody right behind me. The troops were leaving the ship behind us in the most organized parade formations I had seen from them. Each step synchronized and everyone had cleaned their armor for this. They were making the impression of being the best as well as they could to show off either for the Kanimoans, or for the cadets still in training.

Jedi Master Shaak Ti was there to great us as she said “Jedi Masters Kenobi and Skywalker, welcome to Kamino.”

“Greetings, Generals.” The Kaminoan at her side said in a voice that I already didn’t like.

“I wish our arrival wasn’t under such circumstances.” Master Obi-Wan said with an almost cringe to his voice. “We believe Grievous is planning a Separatist attack on Kamino.”

The long neck blinked in surprised before arguing “But the Republic blockade is far too strong. They would not dare.”

I kept silent, not wanting to be rude and not trusting what might come out of my mouth. But I could see that Master Ti thought as we did. That it was possible, and perhaps even already starting. A crash of thunder sounded as we started to move in.

We were proven right as we moved to the command center and the invasion sirens rang out over the city. It was organized chaos as the troops and cadets moved as they had been taught all their lives to where they needed to be. The air was thick in anticipation.

Something in me quickly thought that whatever happened, those old enough to remember this would be better prepared than most. The taste of war in reality rather than just whatever simulations were out there. It was a dark thought. One that I did not want to dwell on, so I pushed it away as quickly as it came.

As Anakin went up to lead the dog fight, we were left watching the progress from afar.

“The fleet is not as large as I expected.” Master Ti noted as she looked on. “Begin the air strike.” She then commanded.

“The intercepted signal had two leaders working together. It sounded like a two-pronged attack. This must be one, but where is the other?” I asked softly enough not to distract the clones but loudly enough that the two Masters could hear me.

My master hummed slightly. “An excellent question. Something is not right here.” The ships were also going down too easily. To the point that debris was falling into the ocean. Large pieces. Dangerous pieces. But that alone couldn’t be the plan.

It was too easy, and he noticed it as Master Ob-Wan started to argue with Skywalker on the comms. “They’re in the water!” I breathed out just as Master said “I think I’d like to go for a swim.”

As he left I turned to the other Master and tried as ask as deferentially as I could “Should we prepare ground troops in case is he is right and they are bringing the fight to us through the ocean?” I wanted to run off and do just that, but this was General Ti’s territory, and I would not do that without her say so. She knew this place better than I did.

“Yes, Padawan, ready the troops.” She answered as she started to make her own preparations.

I walked as quickly as I could out of the room even as I lifted my arm up and commed Commander Cody. “Commander, this is an invasion fleet. They might be dropping troops into the ocean for an assault on the city. Ready the men and get the younger cadets to where they are supposed to be.”

“Understood Commander.” He commed me back, and it didn’t take much longer for Master Obi-Wan to comm back saying that he was right as well.

Clangs started to sound as the assault vessels were coming out from the water and onto the metal domes of the city. I didn’t know the layout of this place, so I opened myself to the Force and let it guide me where I was most needed. I could not question that, even as I felt E2-M2 leave me to find the best place to target the chips.

I ended up alone in a corridor where one of the crafts punched through and a dozen droids were let out. My saber hummed in my hands as the blue blade extended. I could feel it connected to me as I was alone and working towards the protection of everyone here. Then, I attacked. Always on the moves, spinning around the awkward aqua droids and cutting them up as quickly as I could. Sometimes I even ended up force pushing them into deactivation.

That was the drill for a while. I was finding random groups of droids and deactivating them. Following the will of the Force as it instructed me to. Sometimes I helped a contingent of clones, sometimes I didn’t. But I was trying. There was a horrible moment when something hit the tubes with the baby clones inside and an entire column of them went down. But there was nothing I could do for them but keep doing as I was.

Somehow, I ended up in the Barracks. The strange place where the beds went into the wall. I was surprised to note that there was Commander Cody, Captain Rex, and two others from the 501st along with a few cadets and a different clone who looked slightly disfigured. I paid little mind to that as I sped forward and cut down the last of the droids by them.

“Sorry, it looked like you had that handled, but I thought you wouldn’t mind the assist.” I said good naturedly as I deactivated my saber and they all came out of the cover they had created.

“Not at all, it’s good to see you, Commander.” Cody said lightly as he straightened.

I heard excited whispers as the cadets came out from their hiding spots. I suppose that I was the first Jedi besides Master Ti that they had seen here on Kamino. But I paid them no mind as I felt with the Force. This battle was almost over. We would win in the long run, but there was still no telling what the losses were. I didn’t like it.

“How is the battle out there going?” Captain Rex ask as he prepared to move again.

“Almost done. The droids are spread thin, my master is chasing down a fleeing Grievous, and your General is protecting the DNA vault. How about we get some bigger guns and blow those squid crafts off the roof of this city?” I said with a smile.

One of the men I didn’t know from the 501st laughed as he said “I like the sound of that plan!”

“I know where to get the launchers!” The deformed clone said happily before he started to shuffle towards where he knew. We followed, though the other 501st man paused to tell the cadets to stay there and guard the barracks just in case.

“Thank you, soldier.” I said to the walking clone who seemed to be happy to take us towards the armory. Something about how I said that seemed to brighten him up and I could feel the joy in the Force. I supposed that he heard often enough from the Kaminoans and maybe even other clones that he was defective. But I could see that his heart was perhaps the biggest one here. He loved his brothers.

Getting the launchers, and the ammo, they got back to the outside and began to clean up the mess that the Separatist left behind. It was not the fighting any of them had been doing, but it was important. They mostly aimed for the ones that I could feel were still dropping droids.

It was over soon after as the fights trickled to an end. Looking back, I smiled at the clone I now knew was called 99 as he gathered what he could and began to clean. He was a brave heart in a cruel world. He was deformed, a hunched back and a drooping face that looked similar to if he had a stroke at some point in his life.

I couldn't stop myself from reaching out touching the side of his face, the Force sang through me, and I let it guide me as I reached out with it and the intent to heal took over me. There was a soft light between his face and my hand before it faded again. It was not much, but I felt that it showed my gratitude better than my simply saying it.

What could I say? I had a soft spot for broken things. The bounty hunter who was going to take a job that would kill her. The old Jedi Master forgotten in the temple. The Miraluka slave that was rising to become a senator. The Jedi Master who tried so hard to be perfect when inside he never thought he was enough. I seemed to be collecting them.

It didn’t do anything amazing. It didn’t even smooth out the wrinkles on his face. But it did help the drooping of his eyelid and gave him a little bit of the sight back in his left eye. It was small, but it was enough.

“I am glad that Kamino has a soldier like you. Keep supporting your brothers, and make sure that your kindness never fades.” I said softly to him. He was going to have a short life, I could tell. I only hoped that it would be long enough to see his brothers to freedom. He was both heartwarming, and heart breaking.

99 smiled so brightly at me, and I gave him a nod before turning to my Commander and the 501st Captain. It looked like they were having their own serious discussion. I decided to leave them to it as I went back to the command center to look for my master. We had kept the opposition away. And though it came with a heavy heart, it still brought hope.

E2-M2 came back to me before we left as well. He was certainly looking smug, and something in the Force sang that he was successful. It made my smile feel a little less like a lie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And finished. It might have been a little confusing, but that was mostly because it was a very busy scene. ...And I couldn't bring myself to kill 99. I just couldn't.   
> I hope you liked it! Please let me know what you thought!


	29. How One Figures Things Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just some settling down and figuring out what is going on. A few truths are shared as well.   
> Also an inside look at how Zam sees things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know, I really like the idea of Zam. If you hadn't figured that out already.   
> In the movies we hardly see her, just a single chase that ends in her death. Hardly important. But it was the first time I had been introduced to Clawdites and to be honest I loved her very concept from that moment on. I was also way younger and thought the idea of shape changing was the coolest thing ever.   
> Quinlan Vos is another character that intrigues me. What I would give to see the history of a certain object. I think that would be so very cool.   
> Anyway, I hope you like this chapter!

When I got the notice that my system was approved to be a part of the senate, I was practically giddy. It might have actually been a bit unnerving for those around me as we were on the Resolute still with the 501st when I started to giggle a little hysterically. At least Cody just rolled his eyes and let it go as if it was normal. He was getting way too used to how I dealt with stress and surprise. 

Rex was confused and suspicious, but I didn’t let that hinder my fun. And I might have celebrated in the underworld of Coruscant for a night. Not that poor Cody knew what was going on as he followed me and watched in confusion. But we were all in rather high spirits.

Mostly I gathered that the people under me had wanted to join the Republic because they knew that in the future there would be more opportunities open to them through it. As we needed tourists, it made sense that we needed a large group of people for a clientele, and most of these places also had a good amount of money to spend.

But that was not the only thing interesting happening in the senate. A bounty hunter had held the senate hostage and freed Zero the Hutt. Not that it was actually that interesting to me personally as Garix was nowhere near it when it happened, but intellectually that was interesting. Zero had kidnapped Jabba the Hutt’s son to try and align the Hutts with the Separatists away from the Republic.

Also, from what my network had told me after he had been arrested, the Hutts were never going to let him stay arrested as he had a lot of black mail on the families. Trails of their wrong doings and under the table dealings. Things like that were valuable.

Not an hour after that, and Master Obi-Wan came to tell me that he was meeting with another Jedi to track done Zero. This promised to be interesting. Even if I was not coming along. That led to the two of us waiting on the landing platform for the other Jedi to arrive. I wanted to see him off.

Commander Cody seemed to have the same thought as he came over to wait with us for a time as well. Completely off topic, if I wasn’t sure that Master Obi-Wan was straight from the stories I had gotten about the Mandalorian Duchess, I would have totally pegged them as a secret couple. Heck, I still shipped it. Maybe he was more than just straight, it was possible. 

Ahsoka and I had gotten into a conversation about it, and she had laughed herself silly when I had told her. But then again, she totally shipped Knight Secura and Commander Bly. I stood by my own shipping of Knight Secura and Master Fisto. We had a cute debate over it. I got to actually be the teenage girl that I was for a bit. Anakin had actually poked his head in for a moment before running away when we started giggling. We both were not slow enough to not know that something was going on between him and Senator Amidala.

Though, he apparently hid his marriage better than I thought he did seeing as the slightly older girl still didn't know about that. I suppose that I shouldn't be too surprised. Everyone thought that Anakin would never flaunt the Order like that. Sure, he could be emotionally vested, but to say vows higher than the ones taken to be a Jedi knight was almost like blasphemy. But, moving on, now was definitely not the time to think about that.

“Sir, you seem troubled.” Cody inquired as he stood on the other side of my master. It snapped me back from my own musings as I noticed that Master was holding his chin and deep in thought. I wondered why that was.

“Quinlan Vos has that effect.” He answered quickly.

I couldn’t stop the snort as he said that. Knight Vos was a bit of a rogue. In a mostly good way. Maybe. Everyone knew who he was because there were stories about him that ran through the temple. He was unorthodox and a bit of a wild card at best. Half the order was apparently just waiting for him to fall it seemed. Though if rumors were to be believed, that had already happened once.

“Ah, yes.” Cody replied in realization. “That Jedi had quite a reputation.”

“That may be overstating it, Cody. Let’s just say he’s crazy.” Master said. But if I listened closely, I wondered if there wasn’t a little bit of fondness in his voice. Perhaps fond exasperation? It was entirely possible with how many Jedi he knew.

Before anything else could be said, the sound of an engine coming closer sounded. Cody pointed as he said “Ship entry from the west, Sir.”

It was a troop transport gun ship, like the ones we were on during the approach to Ryloth and Geonosis. It came in fast, hovering for a moment and kicking up dust as a voice called down “Hey, Kenobi.” The figure then did a dramatized jump flip to end in front of us.

The person was a Keffar. He had long dreadlocked hair and a golden stripe across his nose that stood out from his tanned skin. He wore clothes in the obvious style of the Jedi and a smooth barreled lightsaber hung from his belt.

“Hey, Commander. Looking good.” He nodded at Cody as he pushed dirt off of the shoulder armor he wore. Then striding towards my Master and me he said “Kenobi, you look worse for wear. How’s temple life? I see you got yourself a new Padawan.” He thumped Master Obi-Wan on the shoulder and threw a wink at me.

I blinked. This was a Jedi. And he was really strange. And super laid back if this wasn’t just a mask of some sort. Master gave him a look, and I couldn’t really tell what it was supposed to show. It was like a mix between a reprimand, distance, and the feeling of ‘why do I even bother’ all wrapped up together.

“Good to see you too.” The Kiffar said with an almost shrug, not minding in the least that there had been no verbal answer.

“Yes, well, if you could tell time half as well as you could stick a landing we wouldn’t be behind schedule, now would we?" Master asked somewhat sharply. I know that my eyes were wide at that. He didn’t usually reprimand someone who wasn’t a padawan or Anakin so blatantly.

“Well, that’s your opinion, man.” Knight Vos retorted, and I had to bite the side of my cheek to keep my startled laugh inside.

“Let’s get down to business.” Master sighed as he pushed on. “Zero the Hutt was broken out during a hostage takeover.”

“Yeah, I read the briefing about that mess.” The other man agreed easily.

“I suspect Jabba the Hutt is behind this. He still had it out for Zero over the kidnapping of his son.” Obi-wan continued.

“Well, my information indicates that Zero has damaging evidence over the Hutt council. My guess is they’ve taken him to the Hutt planet Nal’Hutta.” Knight Vos explained. I hummed slightly as I nodded my head. Both of those were good theories, but I doubted that Jabba would have broken him out. I agreed with Vos on this one.

“As for this bounty hunter Cad Bane, we must capture and return both he and his quarry Zero to the courts. I trust you and I can keep eyes forward in this common goal.” Master said strongly.

“No problem.” Knight Vos was quick to assure. “I owe Bane one anyway. I’ll fly, you’re my copilot.” With that he started to board the ship.

“I was afraid he’d say that.” Master said as an aside to Cody and I. Then he followed as we made out way off of the platform and out of the way.

As the ship finally left, I turned to the commander and asked him “So, do you have any plans for today?”

He paused and just looked at me for a moment, as if weighing his options. Finally, he said “I was planning on training the shinies, but Waxer and Boil have been getting close to my last nerve. Why do you ask, Commander?”

I smirked slightly. “Well, I have been invited to a meeting. And when I say I, I mean Lady Nexu. I thought it might be nice to ask my escort if they wanted to come with instead of having you lot try and be hidden as you follow me.” I invited in a teasing manner.

The good Commander withheld a sigh before he mused “You know, I’ve seen you interact and get things out of people and I still have no idea why it works. Then there was the report from when the Coruscant Guard followed you. Somehow you got a long neck to give you the formula to fix our rapid aging. How do you do it?” He asked as he paused and looked at me.

“I asked that same question, and I still don’t understand it. I listen, Cody. I listen and I accept without question. I don’t care who or what you are, only what you do when you meet me. And I offer that courtesy, and those who have been drifting for so long and are scorned, they see that and they come. And it is something that apparently breeds loyalty. It helps that those here have seen me grow taller. They know that I am young and going places. And they want to be a part of that.” I tried to answer as I understood it.

He huffed. “I guess that does make sense, Commander Nemira.” I smiled as he used my name, though I noticed that he still wouldn’t say it without my rank. “That is how you won over my entire battalion in the first few days that you were on the ship.”

I laughed. It was not a joke, but he told it with a dry tone and a sharp smile that told me he wanted to be humorous. Master did the same thing sometimes. He was laughing too, on the inside. His amber eyes showed that much.

“So, are you coming?” I asked as I raised my eye brows.

“Let me get my civvies out. I’ll see around the corner we usually keep watch by.” He answered before turning and using the comm to tell the trouble two what their new assignment was. I also split to get ready with my own disguise.

We met us and walked further down amicably. Thought not completely, when it was time for me to ditch the heavy brown Jedi cloak, he asked “What should I expect with you meeting?”

I hummed. “I will be going into the back room with one other person. Then when they leave, I imagine another will come in. Once that is done, I will be social. Maybe I can convince you to play a round of sabacc?” As I asked, I held out a money pouch. I know that I said to deal in spice, but here the credit was still the best thing money wise to use. And no one would bother to say no to them. It was the outer rim I would need to use a different form of currency in.

“And let them all know you associate with clones?” He asked dubiously.

“They already know. They have clocked you and the others coming in with me. I have made it clear that your presence it absolutely fine. In fact, they will treat you as one of them. You needn’t worry about that.” I assured him. And he in turn sent me a flat look.

I laughed, before pulling up the voice synthesizer and going towards my favorite bar. He followed half a street behind me. It was cute that they all thought that they were being discrete. Perhaps if they weren’t so used to Kenobi or Skywalker discrete, they would have been doing better.

I walked in and saw the other cloaked figure I knew to be my senator sitting at the bar. I looked at the barkeep and tilted my head towards the room I had used last time. He gave me a wide smile and nodded happily enough. And we both walked in without a word.

As we sat we both also turned our hoods down and I saw that Garix had a smile on his face. “You’re Grace.” He bowed in the seated position.

“Senator, I am glad to see you well. Have things been going well for you?” I asked kindly.

He nodded regally. “Yes, they have been. Your holocomm came at just the right moment, and my I say that you were inspired in your answers. They like you, and they like me, and they are under the impression that as a people we must cover our faces for social reasons. I’ve been playing that last one up, of course.” He said with good humor.

I let out a soft laugh. “Of course. I’m glad.” I said seriously. He seemed to be shining in his new role as Senator, and I hoped that he continued to well in that.

“There are a few worrying bills to vote on, of course, but that is what politics is I’m afraid.” He added with a grimacing smile.

I would have said something cajoling, but something came over me. I blinked before saying “If they ask for the creation of more clones, perhaps you can remind them that the troops ordered now would not be ready until at least nine years from now. If they want them for a more expedient end to the war, then they are in fact doing the opposite.”

“I will keep that in mind, my lady.” He nodded seriously.

I went back to smiling before we exchanged farewells and he left. No sooner had he left with his cloak covering his face then Zam came in. She smiled to see my face showing. But she said nothing as she bowed and sat next to me.

“Will you tell me about Frelmoss, how is it going?” I asked softly. I had been getting numbers sent to me on my phone, but I had not been told much. I knew that I needed to go there soon. But for now I was bound to the war and the Jedi. I didn’t have to time to go there for myself. Not yet, not without my absence being noted.

She smiled “It is amazing, my Queen. The casinos have been opened and people have been making houses and inns. Already they are fun. There is a bit of a slums district, but we are careful to make sure that they are still taken care of. Everything is still new and clean, but people have started to come. I think that it is happy.” She answered.

“I’m glad.” I replied simply. But that wasn’t exactly what I wanted to say here.

Swallowing thickly, I finally said “I am not sure if you know, but as of right now I am of the Jedi Temple here on Coruscant. I meant to misdirection towards you, and to my knowledge I have never outright lied to you. But for now, I cannot publicly come out as Queen. Soon though, soon I will leave the Order and take my place for you and my people.”

There was shock on her face. I can tell that she hadn’t known that. I had been so careful to keep it a secret. But she collected herself quickly and admirably before she said “I did not know that. But thank you, for telling me. For assuring me that you will do right by us.” She then let out a soft laugh “It makes sense now why the clones have been following you, and why they have been claimed by you. You need to be inside of the Order to save them, don’t you?” She asked.

I considered how to answer her. “Not only them. I am in the best place to save trillions of lives. Not just the clones, but the Jedi and a lot of non-humans of the galaxy. If I fail, so many could die. I don’t know if doing this will save them, but it cannot be worse than what would happen without my interference. The end of the war is coming. I will make sure of it. But I must do that from where I am now.”

She tilted her head to the side as she chewed on my words. “I think I understand. Not everything, but enough. I trust you, my Queen. And I always will unless you prove that the trust placed in you is misguided. But I don’t think you will do that.” She said slowly.

I just smiled behind the copper mask as I placed it back on my face. “I will do my best.”

We left the room after that. And true to my words before, I dragged Cody into the game of sabacc that I took over. The others were hesitant for a moment before they welcomed him and the credits I had forced on him into the circle.

I think he learned at least seven new swears in three different languages, and a few secrets that certain senators were keeping. They also liked his dry humor and his quick wit. More so when he mentioned he knew all the ways someone was lying from having so many brothers.

They also were unsure how to deal with me for a moment due to my new position. But they were quick to get over it and see that I was here for our normal game and could care less that I was a queen sitting in their midst.

###  Interlude: How Much the Bounty Hunter Cares

Zam Wessel was a Clawdite bounty hunter of some skill. She knew her job, and she was good at it. More than that though, she was used to pretending to be human to avoid scorn and detection. She learned and she adapted to all situations.

Then, one day she was in a bar in the lower levels of Coruscant looking to rest between bounties and she met a girl she could follow. It all started with a sabacc game. And she supposed so many more after that as well. The girl had asked to speak with her without really asking. Expecting it like those with power did.

And then the girl with the hidden face had told her of a danger in her future. She didn’t ask for anything, she just shared. And there was something that Zam could feel. This girl would go far. She gained nothing by saying this. And yet, she had said it. And to know that, she probably knew of Zam’s changeling status as well.

So, the bounty hunter took a chance on what she thought was a small woman. She became an informant and watched. She watched as the easy acceptance meant that more people were taking a chance on her. As she showed that she had values. As she showed that it mattered little who or what you were. She watched as the network grew and people pledged their loyalty.

Zam never meant to bind herself to a single person so thoroughly. She never meant to build an empire for someone. But it seemed that she couldn’t stop herself. Not with this girl. Not with these people who were becoming so much better than they had been without her guidance.

Then a year passed and the bounty hunter and the others noticed something else as well. The girl was growing. She was growing like a weed. She was not one of the smaller peoples, but she was a child. A child who trusted them and wanted to help them. No wonder there was no greed in her interaction with them.

It then occurred to the Clawdite that the child probably really didn’t know what she was doing. She was just following her heart. But that did not mean that the Lady wasn’t smart. Her mind was like a trap, and a whip. She connected things and saw things, and used them.

Over the years the system was bolstered and grown. There were followers of Lady Nexu on a lot of other planets. So many and yet, the girl still asked them for nothing but to live their lives, play sabacc and gather information. Though, all of that information gathered, and she still offered more to them than that as she read the future for them.

It was kind of amazing to nurture this empire with small nudges and protections. Even more than that, it was making Zam and the Lady rich. It was making all of them rich somehow. There was no explanation for it, but money was coming in. The tides of fortune had changed.

When those words were spoken “May Fortune Favor the Loyal” it all made sense somehow. Everything was going right. Everything was as it should be.

The wager with the hutt was amazing as well. Zam had won a system. Of course, the wager was made from the Lady’s bank account, but still. She was at least adviser to her lady by that point. One of few that she trusted implicitly.

The moment that word came out, people came. People from all walks of life and all races of being. The Ryn came, not to stay in one place, but to help and inform. Groups of people form here or there came and stayed. Twi’Leks came to stay. Dancers, thugs, any walk of life for them. The people freed came.

They were the ones who came quickest. And when ruling them came into question, there wasn’t even a question to who it would be. The people wanted their Lady to be their Queen. And they were sure to make it known.

After that Zam learned how to apply for republic citizenship and entry into the Galactic Senate of the Republic. She learned of a Miraluka good with words who would represent them. He was freed from slavery and wanted to do his part. Everyone wanted to do their part.

When she finally showed her Queen, she was so glad to know that she had surprised her, and made her proud. Everything was going wonderfully. The future was theirs to discover. And her lady gave her a name. A privet thing when one considers that she had seen her Queen was of the Firrerreo.

When her Queen admitted that she was a Jedi, well, that was the first thing that truly shocked Zam. It was something that had never even occurred to her. She had known from the beginning that her lady was force sensitive, but she had never thought that she was in the temple. Looking back on it, she supposed that it wasn’t too large of a leap to make.

Especially as she had learned the clones were coming along as well, looking concerned for her lady. But Nemira (the name shared, trusted to Zam) had assured her that it was a temporary arrangement. That soon she would be the Queen that they needed and wanted her to be.

Zam believed her. She believed her like she had believed in her when told that if she were to take a certain bounty she would die. She believed her like she believed that she rigged the games to know who to pay for information.

This added a little bit more work, but not too much. Nothing had really changed. Even if it felt as if everything had. She would serve her Lady to the best of her abilities. Just as she always had.

When the Queen left, the clone stayed for a moment, as was customary, before going to follow. But Zam was not content to leave him be this time. Standing as well, she put herself in front of him and crossed her arms. “You will look out for her, right?” She demanded in a tone that implied threat.

The clone had the decency to look offended before he said “I always will. It’s my job.”

Zam felt her lips pursing under the veil she had on her lower face. That answer wasn’t what she wanted from him. “She will free all of you, you know. She has already started. She is the one who frees, the one who takes a chance on those the galaxy has given up on. When all is said and done, I guarantee she will also have a plan to help you once you are free as well.” She told him without mincing words.

He looked startled. Then his eyes warmed even as his face stayed severe. “Her heart is going to get her in trouble one day. But we all know that already. We protect her as she lets us. That is all we can do.” He said. Then he pushed by and out of the bar.

But that was the reaction that Zam had wanted. Yes, her Queen was going to be just fine. And she was going to fulfill her promises. She didn’t need to see the future to know that much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you have it!  
> I'm pretty sure that my own Cody and Obi-Wan shipping is low key, but honestly if they had both stayed themselves I just feel as if they would always be together after the war. Even if it was just as friends. I love their dynamic. Also, Rex and Ahsoka I personally do not ship, but I see them as siblings a lot and they would probably totally act like it.   
> Thank you for reading!   
> Please let me know what you think!


	30. How to Stop a Monster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Force calls for her, and so Nemira must answer. Though, it would have been nice to warn her just what was waiting for her at the destination.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In comes Savage... I in some ways feel for him, and in others can't help but feel as if he should not have run right back to mother Talzin when he had finally gotten free. You know, considering she had been the one to basically sell him as a pawn between Ventress and Dooku. Maul could have stayed on that junk planet going mad for all eternity for all I care.   
> That might be mean. But, well, I can't help it.   
> This is also a shorter chapter, but it is kind of important.

A new threat to the Jedi had been discovered. I did not know much about it. Neither did Ahsoka, but both of our masters left to figure more out after the bodies of a Master and his Padawan were returned to the temple by commandos of all troopers. It was shocking mainly because of the brutality that had been shown. Or so I guessed from what little I overheard about it. The commandos were sent to retrieve the bodies in case whatever had done it came back. They were the clones who were trained so hard that it was a step and a half above the rank of ARC trooper. Or well, maybe two and a half. 

You had the regular troopers, they went up in rank all the way to Commander who had more training than the others. Then there was special operations ARC troopers. After that you had the specialized troops that included the underwater fighters. Then came the Marines. They were the ones who were placed in the worst fronts imaginable. I never saw fighting as bad as they saw. After that were the Commandos who were like the special operations troopers of the Marines, only more in a way. Their gear was tailored for them and their function. You did not mess with them. And they were what had been sent out to retrieve the bodies.

It told all of us not in the know that something terrible had happened. Something that was being kept from us, probably because of how bad it was.

But Obi-Wan had left long before I could really question him, and I had been in the Negotiator as the 212th were prepared to do whatever it was they were going to be ordered to do. Being the flag ship and the higher ranked troops of the 7th Sky Corps, the command needed to be able to give out orders with or without Obi-Wan. Or myself really. We were also expected to be ready to deploy at a moments notice if they called on us. 

It had been a bit complicated when I first started to realize everything and learn. But over the course of my training, I had learned to juggle the responsibilities. In comparison, the 501st wasn’t really that huge in the command structure. They were more like a branch of the corps that did specialized missions or was added to the 212th when needed.

I think that was done because Anakin was so young. And he had been a fresh knight when he was gotten the battalion. Though, I don’t think that he knew how unimportant his section of the military was in comparison. Master Mundi was usually the one where the worst of the fighting was. 

Anyway, we were out there when I felt something tug on me in the Force. I know that I was frowning, eye brows creased and starting into the distance trying to figure out what it was saying. But this was different than my usual voluntary visions. There was a feeling tugging on my gut. Tugging insistently. This was important. But I didn’t know what it was. Or even what it meant. 

“Commander, are you alright?” I heard a voice call. And I shook myself out of the Force, I saw that it was Wooley of all troopers. Not the one I was expecting to notice, but it was kind that he was concerned. Even though he was no longer a shiney, the other troopers kind of treated him like the baby brother at times. Mostly because he was the youngest of Ghost Company. 

“I,” I started, but then I paused and thought out what I was going to say. “I need to leave.” I finally enunciated slowly, my tone slightly questioning and definitely not as firm as it probably should have been. And there was a confirmation chiming through the Force as I did. And the frown that was on my face deepened at that as well.

“What? Sir?” Boil spoke up as he and most of the others turned from their stations and looked at me sharply. The Sir was tacked on after the fact as he had spoken out in surprise.

My brows furrowed further. “I need to go. The Force is screaming at me that I need to be somewhere else.” I said as I figured it out myself. Then I straightened and went to leave for the hanger. “So, I’m going. Commander, I leave everything in your more than capable hands.”

“Wait, Commander, at least take back up with you!” Commander Cody argued with a scowl of his own. I knew that he didn’t like that us Jedi got these feelings that forced us to go places. And he didn’t like that we often times refused to take anyone with us. More than that, he didn't want me to go anywhere seeing as I was more than likely going to be going into some dangerous situation. But it was important.

“No, I’m taking the Jedi fighter. I need to be quick.” I said with an apologetic tone.The fighters that had been made for the Jedi weren't really able to be piloted by anyone else. They were made with the intent that when the Force guided us we could change trajectory on a dime. Sure, we had a droid with us to stabilize the flight and chart the course. But the ships themselves had less sensors trained on their surroundings as it was second nature for us to use the Force to keep away from things that we might run into. 

It brought a sigh out from Cody, but he couldn’t argue. Not with that considering it might be impossible for the back up to even follow where I was headed. I imagine the fact that my Master wasn’t here and I was making this decision was also cause for his concern as well. Though, I have a feeling any master would agree with me. Not to mention that I had never done this before and I was so certain that I needed to do this.

It wasn’t like I was leaving in the middle of a battle or anything. I was leaving because I had to, and because right now the troops were perfectly fine. I know that Master Obi-Wan and Knight Skywalker do things like this all the time. It also wasn’t like I was doing this in a fit of teenage rebellion. With those thoughts in my mind, I stalked to the hanger with purpose. 

R3 was waiting for me and programmed the hyperspace ring as well. I slipped in, and I was out in a manner of moments, the jump ring coming with me. I closed my eyes and listened to the tug, letting it tell me where I needed to go. Something flashed in my mind. The image of a Toydarian being slammed into the wall by the Force. That was where I was needed.

“Sir, if I may ask, where are you going?” Cody asked with a sigh hidden in his voice.

I hummed slightly as I started to program the jump on Force perception alone. “I’m thinking that I might be going to Toydaria, but I could be wrong. We’ll just have to see.” I answered in a falsely light tone.

“Of course, sir.” He answered blankly.

I laughed and just before the jump was initiated, I said “Hold the fort, Commander, I’ll be back soon enough. Probably with my Master and his former Padawan in tow.” I wasn’t completely sure if that was premonition or a joke, but I didn’t get to hear the reaction as I was sent hurtling through hyper space.

As I was waiting to leave hyperspace, I thought about the path the Force was talking me, and I opened myself up to it. It was a man. A Zabark with yellow skin and black tattoos marbled across him. His horns were long and pointed, and there was the feeling of rage and pain and hurt running through him.

Sith alchemy, or dark witchcraft. I couldn’t tell which it was, but it was seeped into him and controlling him. Any intelligence that he had away from that which was needed to survive had been suppressed and his physical strength was heightened. He was nothing but a moving mass of rage and destruction. But he didn’t need to be.

It hurt to see how deep some people would go to get revenge. How many lives they were willing to destroy in order to gain it. Because this was either the result of Dooku, or it was something else. Something more sinister and darker than he. But I couldn’t see what yet.

I exited hyperspace just long enough to be cut off by a ship clearly of Geonosian design. In fact, it was one that matched the ship that Count Dooku favored. I felt a shiver go up my spine. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.” I muttered the myself. R3 whistled at me in encouragement as he helped me to quickly chase down the ship.

I landed just as he launched himself off of his own ship and went after the guards. And I only managed to get out to save the last one. I lunged in front of him and ignited my saber quick enough to lock blue with the red of his light staff. They clashed loudly as I yelled at the Toydarian “Go and warn your king!”

I knew that the King was a war lord. He was in charge because he was the strongest. There was no question that he was a strong warrior, but against someone like this, he was not equipped to deal with him. I was not going to put the leader of a people in danger.

The man growled at me, then he used brute strength to push me away before attacking. I met each swipe and lunge with either a parry or a dodge. I ran circles around him, but my main objective was keeping him out here and not in there with the King.

Swallowing hard, I stopped his saber once again from taking off my head. Only, this time as he was pushing, he was pushing slowly, sliding me across the metal plating of the landing platform. I gritted my teeth and reached for the Force, letting it fill me with strength and wisdom as I disengaged by ducking under his blade and rolling close to his side with my blade skimming against his own.

I tried to slide it down towards his grip, but he responded with a Force push to get me away from him. I cried out as I tumbled, but this way had more room to be thrown around in. As he made a motion to grab me with the Force, I on instinct sent my own wave to counter it. The two forces met in between us and pushed against each other.

There was a small shock wave, and then he jumped at me again. But this time I could see in the sky that there were two other Jedi fighters coming in for a landing. My master and Skywalker were here. That was good. Alone, I didn’t think I could do more than stall him.

I parried and dodged a few more times when the ships finally landed. When they hopped out, the man snarled as he tried to keep all three of us in his sights.

“Padawan, what in the blazes are you doing here?” Master Obi-Wan asked as we all circled him on the platform.

Panting slightly from effort I said as lightly as I could “Oh, you know, the Force was insistent that I come here. Will of the Force and all that.”

There wasn’t time to talk after that as the Zabark attacked. He twisted and used his brutality to basically push us around. But then, as he lunged for me again, as he decided I was the weakest link, I locked sabers once more. Only the Force sang out.

I don’t really know what I did, but I knew that I had to. I took a hand off the hilt of my light saber and I touched the side of his forehead. There was a white glow that went from me to him, and then he was yelling. He jerked away from me and I watched wide eyed as green fog seemed to stream out of him. His horns shrank, he shrank, and then he was on his knees.

I saw more things from his past. More things that were horrible. But I tried to move past it. I didn’t want to see the death of the brother he loved so dearly. I didn’t want to see the hellish training that the Count had forced on him. But I was still seeing it.

In a gruntle scream of rage, he pushed a wave of Force out that knocked us all over. Master and Skywalker were shoved almost off the side of the landing platform as I was slammed into the side of his ship. I was dazed for a moment, but I watched as he staggered to his feet and made his way to the ship.

Knowing that it was going to turn on, and that I shouldn’t be too close to it when it was turned on, I did my best to get to my own feet, and get away from the ship. But I heard myself whisper for his ears alone “Go to the Cymopha System. You will be safe there. As long as you come in peace, no one there will hurt you.”

I don’t know if he heard me or not, he didn’t acknowledge me, but he ran into the ship and took off. I went over to the side and helped the two men get back up onto the platform. But there was a shakiness to me that I was trying to hide. This entire fight had been absolutely terrifying.

I had never actually fought Ventress. I hadn’t even seen her in battle. Neither had I seen Dooku or Grievous. This was my first real fight against and enemy Force user. It had been terrifying and I know that one mistake could have meant my death. I mean, droids could kill you, but nothing is quite so scary as a lightsaber in your face.

But there was something else that I was confused about first. “Master, when I touched his head, I didn’t know that would happen. What did I do to him?” I asked nervously. My eyes were wider than I would have liked as I looked at my master with fear hiding behind them.

“It looked like Force healing. Nothing that would save a life, but I think you managed to force some sort of sith alchemy out of him. Don’t worry, Padawan, I am sure that you will figure it out eventually. I think you just pushed light into him without intending harm, but intending to fix him.” Master Obi-Wan assured as he put a firm hand on my shoulder.

“Oh,” I replied stupidly in a small voice. I was glad that he didn’t seem worried. But at the same time, I could admit that I was still nervous and tired and just done with all that had happened. After the fact and I was going to sleep for the rest of the day and maybe the day after that.

Whatever I had done, now that the adrenaline had left me, I was bone tired and more than a little bit drained. We all climbed into our respective rides after Master made his greetings and apologies to the King of the Toydarians, and we left. I fell into my fighter and basically handed the controls to R3.

Not that the droid minded. I think he was a little excited as he was beeping a monologue about how amazing the fight was and how close it was to him. I would have considered it cute, if not for the fact that it was keeping me awake. Then again, sleeping at the helm was not a good idea at all.

Let’s just say that I made my way back to the ship. Made the assurances that I was fine, and then crashed in my quarters without care. I know that Master went to report in, but he didn’t request my presence, so it was alright that I missed it. Though, I had a feeling that I was in for a lecture later on about how I had rushed in without thinking. But that was a future me problem. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, there is lots of changing of the cannon. Part of it was because I was not about to deal with Maul, and the other part is that I wanted Savage to have a better chance than he was given.   
> This was also a good chance to develop the strange thing that Nemira has been doing where she basically shoves a nice portion of light sided Force into someone and sees what will happen. Because that too might be important at some point.   
> I hope you like it! Thanks for reading and please let me know what you thought! I love reading the comments that come in!  
> Side note: only 14 more chapters!!!!!!!!!


	31. How Mortis was Found

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crew gets stranded on a strange planet that is like a sun in the Force. With so many strange things happening, it is no wonder that this place may prove more dangerous than they expect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here comes Mortis, the trippiest place in this universe for me. Like, I've seen the episodes more than once, and I still am not completely sure about everything that happened. So I took a bit of creative license and I hope that you all like it!

I was on a ship with Master Obi-Wan, Knight Skywalker, and Ahsoka again. On a ship that was not the Twilight. I very carefully did not mention that the chances of this ship making it to our troopers intact was roughly…. impossible. I had said it once before, and they hadn’t been happy about it at that time either.

We were rendezvousing with Captain Rex and the 501st at a location that an archaic Jedi distress signal was coming from. Archaic as in over two thousand years old, and considering that was double the age of the new Republic, that was very old. To the point that we were lucky to even recognize the signal at all. It took a few days in the archives to pin point what it meant. 

But I guess that also said something about the depth of our archives. Never could a single person read everything just as no one really knew what all was in there as well. The secrets hidden could probably be sifted through for ages. However, that was neither here nor there.

Coming out of hyperspace, Skywalker was on the comms as he reached out. “Rex, Rex, do you read me? We’re at the rendezvous point awaiting your arrival. Where are you?”

“Sir, we are at the rendezvous point, and there’s no sign of you on our scanners.” Rex replied without mincing words or asking if we were sure we were in the right spot.

That didn’t sit well with our esteemed pilot. “Oh, come on. That’s impossible. Something’s wrong. We’re at the exact coordinates where the distress call originated, but there’s nothing here. Rex is at the exact same coordinates, and he’s not here.” He said.

I sighed. When put like that I knew that this was going to turn complicated really quickly. Especially considering we were in the far reaches of space and there was literally nothing out here. I didn’t like it.

“This is getting interesting.” Master Obi-Wan said with a small smirk. His talent for understatement was not appreciated by any of us at that moment.

Captain Rex’s transmission then began to cut in and out as he asked where we were as he could not find us. Until it finally cut off completely.

“Something’s blocking the signal.” Ahsoka said as she looked to the scanners on the ship. And if that wasn’t enough, right as she finished speaking the ship lost power.

“Oh, this is going to be wonderful.” I said sardonically, joining in on the snipping as I started trying to press buttons just like everyone else. Nothing was actually doing anything though. I even pulled out my phone to see that it was down as well. And that was actually something that had yet to happen.

“Everything’s dead. Even the life support.” Ahsoka announced as she got up and out of her seat. That meant that we had limited air and limited heat. With four humanoids in this little space, that was not even going to last us a day until we were frozen or suffocated.

Though no one else seemed to find that as worrying as Ahsoka and I as Anakin calmly noted “Hmm, this is really strange.” Of course, the moment that he finished saying that, the ship powered right back up.

“There,” Master said in a false happy voice. “See? Nothing to be concerned about after all.” I made sure to withhold my wince at his words and I looked to the panel next to me.

I was looking for whatever could have been messing with us by running a few scans around the area. Well, I was about to do that when Ahsoka, who was now standing in between the two males asked “Then what’s that?” And pointed out the window.

Standing up, I looked out as well. It was a black diamond shaped thing that was bigger than us by a lot. I’d say planet sized, though a smaller planet. Maybe moon sized? It seemed to have intricate red lines of light outlining it and we were drifting closer to it.

“It’s pulling us towards it!” Ahsoka stated as turbulence jostled us around.

I finally let out a sigh and asked “Why do we get all the weird missions?” Then the top half and the lower half of the diamond began to rotate in opposite directions and pure blinding light seeped through where it seemed to be opening. There was a sound, almost like a screaming chorus of people who were slightly off key.

“Everyone strap yourselves in.” Master finally ordered as he fiddled with the controls. “Looks as though we’re going for a ride.” Not bothering to reply, I did as ordered. The light became blinding, and then I don’t know how or when, but I blacked out.

…

We came to at around the same time. Though, it was Skywalker’s voice that woke me completely as he made some comment that I didn’t quite hear or comprehend.

“Then who landed the shuttle?” Master Obi-Wan asked as he seemed to transition to full wakefulness better than any of us. Not that I appreciated it as it sent a bolt of pain straight through my aching brain.

Sitting up, Ahsoka muttered “Not me.”

“Or me.” I groaned before adding “Ow, my head.” It felt like something was pounding on my brain from the inside of my skull. It made thinking rather difficult. The sun light coming in from the windows didn’t help either as I started to undo the buckles holding me to the chair.

“Mmm, where are we?” Our dubious pilot asked as he finally looked out onto the planet.

I looked out and let the light filter out as I saw trees and grass and stone. All the makings of a planet. Which, Ahsoka confirmed as she looked at the scanners beside her seat. A pseudo planet bigger than an asteroid with an atmosphere that catered to those of us who needed to breathe.

“Well, this is getting more unusual by the minute.” Master said seriously. “I can’t even lock down where in the galaxy we are… or if we are even in our own galaxy.” I could tell that he was nervous about this. But I didn’t say anything or add my thoughts as my tongue felt like led in my mouth and once more my head throbbed at his voice.

“Well, the ship’s systems seem fine, but for whatever reason, nothings working.” Anakin said as he tried to start the ship.

I guess that was suitable reason to go outside as Ahsoka was leaving the ship before anyone could say anything and the other two were following her. I carefully uncurled, not realizing that I had been in a ball on my seat and followed, squinting and putting and a hand up to shield my eyes as the membrane was already covering them as well.

This place was so weird. Outside of the ship I could see that there were islands of rock floating in the sky, strange cliff formations, and a feeling in the force that made me uneasy. It was about then that I realized that the migraine I was suffering was because the visions I was blocking out were trying to come at me in greater force than I was used to them coming. That thought was not comforting in the least. The force was Strong here, for better, or for worse.

“Hey! I saw something.” Ahsoka said as she pointed. I bit my tongue to stop the somewhat sarcastic response that was clawing to get out. Now was not the time. “A reflection, up on the hill.”

“I don’t see anything.” Master Obi-Wan said as he turned his binoculars towards where she was pointing.

We were silent for a moment as we all gazed across the mountain range that we found ourselves trapped in for a moment. “What th…What?” Anakin suddenly mumbled as he looked around sharply. “Uh… did you hear that?” He asked us.

I shook my head negatively as Master Obi-Wan shrugged and said “I didn’t hear anything.

“Are you the one?” A voice of a woman suddenly called out. But it was echoey, as if said from a cave and not on the open field as we were standing in. The echo was also deep, as if speaking of hidden power and almost seemed to be coming from the planet itself. But it had us all turning as there was a woman right there next to Anakin.

She was beautiful. With porcelain skin, green hair held out of her face by an elaborate golden headdress, and a flowing white dress with golden accents. Her eyes were the same color as her hair, and seemed to glow with inner light. Not only that, but I guess you could say that the entirety of her seemed to glow within the Force. She was like nothing I had ever seen before.

“Hello.” Master said, and I was afraid he might start flirting with her as he sometimes did around new people he was unsure about.

“Who are you?” Anakin asked as he put his fist on his hip.

Bringing her hand up to her chest, the woman answered in the same echoey voice “I am Daughter.” Her hands drifted down as well once she said her title. It was like an old greeting of some form and for a moment I was reminded of the fist in hand bow that the Jedi did to each other. I even almost did just that, but now wasn’t the time I suppose. “Are you the One?” She asked again.

“Uh, the One what?” Skywalker asked a bit rudely.

“I will take you to him.” She said instead of answering.

Ahsoka leaned in slightly as she asked “Him who?”

“Uh, did you bring us here?” Master Obi-Wan interrupted as he walked forward. At least he was more interested in trying to find a way to get away rather than following mindlessly.

“Only he can help you.” The woman said strongly. “There is little time. Follow me. We must have shelter by nightfall.”

Interestingly enough, during that exchange I noticed that while voices were hurting my head, hers didn’t. As if it was already part of the pushing and speaking did not add to it at all. That didn’t make much sense, but I guess nothing about this did.

“And we thought the planet was strange. How about this one?” Skywalker asked in a voice that I could guarantee was heard by the woman who was already walking away. Though, it almost looked as if she was gliding.

“We’ll be fine, as long as we stay together.” Master tried to assure us before we all started to follow the woman to the paths carved out of the cliffs we were next to.

…

“Have you noticed the seasons seem to change with the time of day?” Master Obi-Wan asked, breaking the silence we had fallen into as we walked behind the woman who called herself Daughter.

“Yeah,” Anakin agreed.

“And there are no animals.” Ahsoka added.

Taking the cue to speak up as well, I noted “I haven’t even seen that there are eatable plants.” It was concerning, even if Ahsoka and I didn’t do well on plant-based food, it would have been something to keep us alive until we got off this rock.

“And you sense it?” Master pressed.

Anakin made and agreeing sound. “Since we arrived. The Force is very strong.” We were all being careful to be quiet, as if our voices would break this strange silence that the land seemed to radiate.

“An intersection unlike anything I’ve ever felt before. Be wary.” Master tried to put words to the strange feeling. And it did make sense. It felt like this was a point of meeting for the Force. As if it was pulled here before reaching out again. But it didn’t feel as if it was natural. More like someone made this place.

“It’s pounding on my shields. I’m afraid that if I look, I may not be able to pull myself out.” I added in caution. That earned me a slightly concerned look, but there was nothing to be done about it here.

“Excuse me, who are you taking us to?” Skywalker spoke up to our strange guide.

“The Father, of course.” She answered almost lightly.

“Of course.” Ahsoka echoed.

“Right.” I agreed as if it made perfect sense when it really, really didn’t. Distantly I wondered if I sounded like that when I was telling someone a warning. I hoped that my voice did get that confusing echoing quality to it. It was weird.

“And, what exactly are you?” Master asked rather bluntly knowing him. Part of me always wondered if his Negotiator title was ironic, or if the war had blunted his silver tongue. Oh I knew that he could be a smooth talker, but I never saw it. Usually he ended up in what Skywalker called aggressive negotiation. And that was pretty much just fighting your way in and out of bad situations. 

“We are the ones who guard the power. We are the middle, the beginning, and the end.” She answered, and I could feel a slight hint of arrogance to her then. But I was not about to say anything to her. This was something that was out of my comfort zone. Though it was also somewhat foreboding.

“Glad she cleared that up for us.” Skywalker commented sarcastically.

It was around then that we turned the corner into the afternoon day cycle and the foliage that was once green around us dulled to a deep red. While beautiful in its own right, it was still disconcerting to see something like that happen so fast. It was almost enough of a shock to distract me form the warning ping within the Force.

Skywalker called out suddenly, and then a huge slice of rock slid from the top of the cliff face and into our path, leaving us to scramble to get away. Master tripped as Ahsoka dodged and my balance already off because of the pain in my head over balanced me as I pushed my master firmly onto the ledge we were on.

I fell. I fell down into the depths below the cliffs. I only managed to slow my fall as I was grabbing onto anything I could. A crack in the rock here, a plant there, maybe a ridge or two. When I finally hit the bottom my hands were a bloody mess. But I was alive, so I took it as a win.

“Padawan, padawan, are you alright?” Master used the comm to call me.

I took a few deep breaths before I hit the button and replied “A little beat up, but I’m alright. Are you okay?”

“Yes, fine. Ahsoka and I are headed back to the ship, do you think you can meet us there, or do we need to come down there?” He replied and asked worriedly.

I took a breath as I looked around. It was mostly straight down, and there was nothing to hide the path that we had taken. The cliff was shear and like a boundary line. I could follow it easily and climb up when I found the right place to do so. And when my hands were better healed. I didn't want to make them worse than they already were considering that they were still sluggishly bleeding. 

“I can get there. I’ll see you soon.” I answered with confidence I didn’t completely feel.

“May the Force be with you.” He replied, and I sent the words right back at him. This was going to be a dangerous climb, but I had a feeling they wouldn’t be having an easy time of it either. Why was it that I was always getting separated from everyone?

It was only later that I realized they hadn’t spoken about Anakin.

…

The crash of thunder alerted me to the looming thunder clouds hanging in the air. It was perhaps just our luck that it was too. I was beginning to think that anything that could go wrong would go wrong. We were split up, stranded on a planet we did not know, and I just knew that this would dampen our communications too.

With a sigh I walked steadily onwards. My hands had long since scabbed over and besides a few of the deeper gouges were looking a lot better. But with the shadow of night fast approaching my head seemed to be pounding worse and worse.

Then there was a sound, like a cape or a flag caught in the wind. From behind me a voice said “You are not supposed to be here.” It was soft in a way, quiet. Deep and masculine with that echo that the woman had, but also darker at the same time.

Turning sharply in surprise, I saw a man standing before me. He was almost as pale as the woman, but with darker hues to his skin and wearing all black. There were red markings on his bald head and coming from his eyes and down his cheeks. But his eyes were the most interesting. They glowed red like embers. It reminded me slightly of a mask with LED lights for eyes in a way.

Bowling my head slightly, I explained “I’m sorry, I fell. The one called Daughter was leading us, but there was an accident, and now I am down here.” It was best to be polite, even if I was unsure of him.

“My Sister told the others to wait. They didn’t listen.” I said, his voice rising slightly at the word didn’t. And there was a certain inflection over the word sister as well.

So, I just smiled shyly and said “Ah. I’m not sure if they know how to wait if I am honest.” And it was a pretty accurate assessment in my opinion.

“Is it true he is the Chosen One?” The man then asked in barely a whisper. The only reason I heard it as well as I did was because he leaned in and it seemed to echo louder all around me.

I found myself swallowing in uncertainty. That was one question that I had not been expecting really, even if the woman had asked Anakin a similar question. Then I carefully said “I don’t know. I have never heard this prophecy in full, nor do I believe that the interpretations are true. I believe that we can see into the past, the present, and the future, but to create great prophecies, I am skeptical. There is no denying that he is powerful in the Force, but that is all I can say.”

He watched me then, glowing ember like eyes drinking in any tell that I was lying. I wasn’t, and so I wasn’t worried. Finally, he backed up a pace and said “The storms here are lethal. If you want to live, you’d best find shelter.”

For some reason I felt as if I had passed some kind of test with him, though I didn’t know what kind of test it was. Smiling at him, I said “Thank you.” Then I watched as he backed up again and seemed to jump and twist in the air as he transformed into a large winged creature and flew off in the direction that I was headed. This both spooked and awed me. He was an animagus. Well, not really. But it seemed like that for a moment. A man who could turn into a kind of creature at will. I had so many questions that I knew were never going to be answered. 

With the clouds closing in, I figured that it was a good time to start to look for a place to hole up in. I found a small space under a ledge just as the plants started to die and wither away. It was once again strange to watch, the bones left after the foliage had left the plants seemed to glow for a moment before that glow seemed to be sucked into the ground and out of sight. It was very concerning, but I let it go as I huddled into the space I felt as safe and curled into a ball.

When the rain started it never touched me. The ledge that covered me was catching it and the land I was sitting on was elevated somewhat as streams of water gathered and rushed away from me. The lightning hammered the ground all around me, as if looking for something to shock, but it never got past the rock. Even as it left scorching marks and red hot pieces of slag in its wake. 

I didn’t mean to fall asleep, but with the rain drumming a steady crash all around me, and the pressure of my migraine exhausting me, I soon fell into a deep slumber, shivering all the while as the air chilled as well. But most importantly, I dreamed.

They were not true dreams. No, the Force wrapped around me and saw that I was sleeping. It decided to show me things in the past, and things in the future. It twisted and coiled to show me the story of why it felt as it felt and why there were only three living things in this place. I learned and I knew. And for some reason, it all made me very sad. Especially in concerns for the fourth being that had long been caged elsewhere. 

I couldn’t understand how I knew what I knew, but there was a feeling within me. The Force wanted me to go deeper into it. To connect with it as I had never connected before. To be inside of it, and yet separate. It was asking for help. At the time I did not understand what help it was asking for. I was afraid of what it would mean for me. I was afraid to do as it asked. Afraid to follow the will of the Force as I had been taught all my life. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And done! If you haven't figured it out yet, Nemira's reaction to strange and unknown things is to be as polite as possible and hope that it passes right on over her. She has absolutely no idea what is going on. While she is alone on this freaky planet. And it will probably only get worse.   
> Please let me know what you thought! And thanks for reading.


	32. How I Became the Watcher for an Infinite Moment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the Force acting very weird and things only escalating, it isn'r really all that surprising when Nemira sinks too deeply in the Force than is good for her individuality.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I went slightly off the rails in this chapter. And I don't care. This whole story line is still a trip and a half so I feel confident it isn't too far off the realm of possibility.   
> And a reason for why her visions are still pretty clear. Though, maybe a weak one that takes a while to understand.   
> Anyway, I hope you like this chapter!

The sunlight woke me the next day. My head still ached and throbbed in pain, but it was better now that I had seen some of the things that the Force had been throwing at me. Anticipation was thick in the air as I watched the planet breathe life back into the plants that had died just the night before. A continuous cycle that never ended. The changing of the seasons, day to night, life and death. Contradictions, but together they were everything.

I did my best not to think about it, or the feeling that I was missing something important. I always seemed to miss the important bits it seemed. If that was a good thing, or a bad thing, I still didn’t know.

What tipped me off the most was when the Force seemed to swirl and condense. The sky spun from day to night and back again. A presence seemed to radiate brighter than others in the Force. It was Anakin, and I knew that something important was happening. Something important and I was stuck in the bottom of this canyon. Well, I was obviously of no help to them. 

It was nearing noon when I heard that sound again, the one that I now knew was the flapping of wings. Looking behind me, there were both the Daughter and the man I had spoken to earlier. The Son, the Force whispered in my mind.

“Hello,” I said cautiously as my head did a small bow like bob. There was tension in both of them as they looked at me, but I could tell that it had little to do with me and more to do with what had happened in the place I hadn’t been around. Their proverbial and literal feathers had been ruffled. 

“Father has instructed us to take you to your companions.” The Daughter said almost coldly.

I looked between the two of them carefully before I said “Of course, and where would that be?”

“Follow us,” the man said as he turned and stalked forward. I didn’t bother to say anything as I did as told. My lightsaber bounced against my hip where it was connected to my belt. It was a reassuring presence, but I knew that it would do me no good here. Not with people such as these.

They led me up to a monastery where the ship was waiting with the others. I was relieved to see them. From the look on my Master’s face, he was relieved to see me as well. They all looked shaken, but Anakin the most. I know that I didn’t quite look okay either. Though the bruises and abrasions were gone, I knew that I was covered in dirt and there were smears of blood on my slightly ripped shirt.

“Good to see you. Are you ready to go?” He asked me as I came into view.

I laughed slightly “More than ready.” Then I turned to the two who had escorted me and gave a sort of bow to each of them as I said “Thank you for leading me here.”

The Daughter seemed to look at me for only a moment before she turned and left. But the Son was different. His head tilted as he looked at me, his eyes once more tying to pick me apart for some deeper meaning that my words didn’t have. Eventually he too turned away and disappeared. I tried not to let dread pool in my stomach as the four of us boarded the ship and prepared to leave. 

As we took off, I couldn’t stop a shiver from going down my spine. We were leaving, but this place (Mortis the Force whispered to me) was not finished with us yet. Our stay was not done, and I didn’t know how to tell the others that.

I sat as the co-pilot next to Master Obi-Wan as he flew the ship. Knight Skywalker was sleeping in the back of the ship. Something had happened, but I could also tell that the others didn’t want to talk about it. So, I let it go for the time being. If it was important, they would tell me when I needed to know about it.

My thoughts were snapped from that train as the door between us and the back snapped shut before there was some muffled screaming. I got up to investigate when the door opened again and Skywalker brushed past me and into the seat I had just vacated.

“What’s going on?” Master Obi-Wan asked as he dared not take his eyes from the thick cloud cover we were going through.

“The Son took Ahsoka.” Anakin answered shortly as he took the controls of the ship and transferred them to his side of the ship. I gulped and planted myself into a seat quickly.

“What in the blazes are you talking about?” Master asked with panic in his voice. Ahsoka had only just left the cockpit with us not even a minute ago.

We got no answer as he took complete control of this ship and began his fancy maneuvers. “Oh, Stars.” I muttered as I brought my knees up to my chest and hid my face in them. I did not want to see what sort of spectacular crash he was going to make now. I did not want to see it, and I did not want to feel it, but there was only one of those that I could actively control.

“Look out!” I heard Master call out before the ship jerked once more. It had been jerking a lot since the pilot controls had been handed over. But this time seemed to be the jerk that stopped us as I heard alarms beeping and switches being flipped. When this war was over, I was never, ever, ever, going to be in a space ship that Anakin Skywalker piloted. Ever again! Well, at least not by conscious choice!

We crashed. I didn’t actually get hurt, but the ship was sparking a bit, and that was a lot not good. “I didn’t think you saw it.” I heard Master Obi-Wan say as he straightened himself out.

“It was a giant karking tower. Of course, I saw it!” Anakin retorted angrily. But he paid no mind as he swiftly stormed out of the ship after Obi-Wan.

I scrambled to undo my harness and follow them out into the fog. I got out in time to see them staring at a large tower tipped in green that seemed to be in the middle of the darkness. I swallowed as the Force urged me to sink into it. To let it show me something new. But I ignored it for the moment. 

I hung back as they argued. Points going back and forth. Skywalker was not going to listen, but Obi-Wan was afraid that if they did something wrong, they would affect the world at large. And we were in the middle of the part of the planet that was steeped in the dark side of the Force. It was dangerous, and I was more than a little afraid.

We shouldn’t be here. They should have never brought us here. The only thing that we would bring to this world was despair that would follow us where ever we went. I watched as Skywalker waked forward, away from us go find Ahsoka. I was silent as Obi-Wan looked for a solution and turned towards the Father’s monastery.

They left me alone by the ship. Obi-Wan giving me a parting word to stay and to be careful. But now I knew that I had to listen to the Force. I had to let it show me what it needed to. The feeling that I felt in my gut told me that if I didn’t something horrible would happen.

Crossing my legs, I dipped my shields, and let the Force show me what it needed me to see.

…

I almost can’t explain what happened to me after that. I was one with the Force for just a moment, but I was separate as well. I was the pebble in the river tide that was the Force. It showed me things, washed over my surface as if I was a river stone, and singed so sweetly into me.

In that moment, I was more than just me. I was me and I was the Force, and together we were something else as well. It was confusing and bright and important. This planet was created by the Force, it was the Force. Flowing and solidifying and just being. I could also feel that this place was beyond the barrier of time and space.

What happened here affected the world out there, but at the same time, nothing from out there affected what was here. The Father called this Balance. I heard his speech to Anakin. But it was a lie. All of this was wrong. Even if they were Force beings, representing what they thought was right, their minds were still so delicately mortal at times. Thousands of years old, and yet they had managed to blind themselves to what they wished to remain ignorant in. 

I don’t remember getting up, or my feet walking. But I was suddenly I was on top of the dark tower looking at the Son who had a long dagger in hand. And I knew what I must do. My eyes glowed a white blue, the same color as my saber, as I stepped forward swiftly and my hand skimmed the side of his head.

There was a flash of light as I shared what I knew would happen. I shared the image of him killing his Sister who had thrown herself between them. Then of the deaths of both himself and his Father who died slowly in the aftermath, alone and looking out in despair. It was something that he never truly wanted. He had just wanted freedom. He wanted to be loved and to make someone proud. He wanted to leave.

But he had been pushed down with path for so long that he didn’t know that his lashing out would instead lose him everything. He didn’t know how to cope with the pressure he was under. And it didn’t help that we had been here, and shook the delicate balance that he had been forced under for so long.

“You don’t want to do this.” I whispered as lightly as I could with a concerned expression on my face. My voice, it was changed. It echoed in the Force like theirs had, only mine seemed to sound like a few children speaking all at once.

“No! No! That…that’s not what I wanted!” He cried as he dropped the dagger and clutched at his head, at the images that I had shared with him.

I hummed softly. “It’s okay. It has yet to happen. You don’t have to do any of that. You can let go.” I urged as shared my compassion with him freely. I dared not look at the others yet, just as I did not look at Ahsoka lying motionless on the ground. Somehow, the handle of the dagger made it into my hand, and I slipped it under my belt behind my back. There was no need for it here, and I did not want anyone using it.

“What are you?” The man who I knew could only be the Father demanded as he seemed to step forward.

I could not hide the sneer that took over my face, though I didn’t feel entirely like myself as it manifested. “We are the one who stands in the steam of time. We are the one who sees all, and knows all. We are the Watcher.” I announced loudly in the voice the echoed in children’s harmonies.

“Padawan.” Obi-Wan Kenobi said in an almost choked voice as he looked at me with wide eyes and concern marring his features. All the while Anakin knelt next to Ahsoka.

I looked away from him as I stared down the Father. “You have hurt them both enough. Your balance is a lie, a farce. A sign of your hubris.” I did not know where these words were coming from, but the Force rang true to me as they came out.

He went to argue, but I didn’t let him speak as I pushed forward. “You Force your Son and Daughter into the roles that you need them to be. You take away their choice. Your Daughter is so deeply forced into the light that she forgets that she can have thoughts of her own, you have pushed her into being cold and callus. Your Son you have pushed so far into the dark that his confusion and anger are lashing out, and then you deny him the right to claw his way out because if he were light your balance would be ruined.” I said.

“What right have you to judge me?” The Father demanded. “You do not know what it is like to have children so powerful they can destroy the universe!”

“I have every right. I have seen the creation of this world. I have seen the steps you took. And I have seen its destruction. Yes, they could destroy the universe, but that does not mean that they will. Anyone can do that. The smallest child on a rural plant, to the richest monarch. The capacity to destroy is within everyone. But you have seen a could be future, and you decided to enslave your children because of it! And the failure with the Mother only solidified your fear.” I shouted out. Again, the words seemed to be separate from me. It was like I was not Nemira. Here I was as said, The Watcher.

But there was still a part of me that remained as I looked down at the still body of my fellow padawan. “Will you undo what you have done?” I asked the Son softly, looking him in his eyes and letting hope color my words.

He seemed lost for a moment, looking between me and his Father and his Sister. His face was painfully open, like a child who didn’t understand what was happening. But then something flickered within his eyes and he knelt down. Two fingers touched the wound I hadn’t seen on her wrist, and darkness seemed to pour out of it until there was none left.

Ahsoka gasped, her eyes the light blue that they had always been, and scrambled to try and get to her feet. She tripped over herself, not strong enough yet to get up fully, but Anakin came to her side to help her. I smiled, and shared my joy with the Force around me.

“No, I maintain the Balance of the Universe.” The Father finally collected himself enough to argue.

With pity in my eyes I answered “It had been two thousand years since you have even seen the universe. The Jedi order you think we are from has long been dead, and a new one rose in its place. There is no Sith order we are fighting. Only a Sith Master, their Apprentice, and a small hand full of acolytes. The balance you seek like a scale has been tipped to the side of light for so long that the way you would go about it would see the complete destruction of the Jedi Order. You see it as a scale. A one to one ratio. But Balance is not meant to be ruled by the rules of mortals. No matter how long lived or powerful in the Force they are. To maintain balance, you must first find it in yourself.”

“It has been this way for thousands of years!” He continued to argue.

“And in that time, you never allowed your Son and Daughter to find peace within themselves. You never allowed them balance. You have pushed and pushed them into a corner. Now your son lashes out because he doesn’t know what else to do. And your Daughter sends others to forbidden depths as that is all she knows. Will you be the Father they need? Will you help and support them and teach them again? Or will you continue to be their jailer and trap them here in this farce for as long as your life will last? Already the Force flowing to this planet weakens as you do, flowing back to the way it did before your interference created this place.” I said.

Then I stood at full height and looked to my friends. To the people who were looking at me as though they weren’t sure what had happened to me. “It is time for us to leave.” I said strongly. Then I looked at my master and words poured out of my mouth “When the child leaves this place, the Force will leave her as well. She will be as you remember her again. The Watcher was needed, but only for a moment.”

I smiled to the Son and Daughter once more, a kind soft smile, before looking at the Father coldly, giving him a chance to change his ways. Giving him a warning to do so quickly.

Then light poured out of me, blinding us all.

When we came back, we were in the ship exactly as we had been before we discovered Mortis. Woken by Captain Rex’s voice as he called to us.

“We read you Rex, can you hear me?” Anakin asked as he did his best to appear alert.

“Yes, sir. Standing by.” Rex answered promptly. “We were worried. You were off the scopes there for a moment.”

Confusion raced between the four of us as Anakin answered “A moment? We’ve been gone more than a moment Rex.”

“Sir, I don’t understand. You’ll need to explain.” The Captain answered unsurely.

“Was it a dream?” I found myself whispering to myself as my memories seemed to be there, but clouded over.

But after we all shared looks, Knight Skywalker answered “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you. We’re coming in now.”

We had been gone for at least two days and two nights. In my memories I could remember something about the place being outside of time and space, but I wasn’t expecting it to seem as if there was no time between when we were lost on Mortis, and when the Force decided to send us back out through me.

I guess it would be one of life’s mysteries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And done! Also, yes, I put in a new spin on the whole balance debate. Or the problems with going too far in either direction. And to things that are considered Force Deities too.   
> The Watcher is something that right now Nemira is not. Sure, they merged for the moment, but she isn't ready for that. It is a possibility of what she might become should she live long enough or perhaps even what awaits her after death. Mortis is just that strange in the Force that it was allowed.   
> Let me know what you thought!


	33. How to Sit Back and Let Others do the Work

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nemira gives some cryptic life saving advice, and Ahsoka does something that she probably shouldn't but it turns out alright in the end. Also, Lady Nexu consults her Zam about something very illegal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the Citadel Mission. And there is no sithing way that Nemira is going to but her way into the mission like Ahsoka. Not when Obi-Wan says no.  
> But still. I hope you like this!

Master was sure to come to me once things settled down and talk about all that had happened on Mortis. I confessed that it didn’t feel like me when I was arguing with the Father, and he expressed how the Force was so strong that something else might have been talking through me. I could tell that just as we both had the memories; we both also could feel them fogging over. As if it had happened a long time ago. It was almost worrying, but we could still remember generally what happened as the details got fuzzy. Not to mention the secret weight of the hilt along my back was a constant reminder to me that it had been real. 

Not that there was any rest for the wicked. Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker were being sent out without us padawans this time around. I knew about it because Master Obi-Wan had told me about it and had expressed his desire for me to stay in the temple. I agreed. I did not want to go on such a dangerous mission where I might be in the way. I was almost closer to fourteen than thirteen at this point, and not a complete idiot. This mission was too much for me. 

But I got to listen to Ahsoka complaining as I looked over the men in blue striped armor who were going. I figured that since I wasn’t going to be there, I might as well give them a few pointers as I would to any of my people to keep them safe. A peek into the future would also be a good thing as I hadn’t done it in a while and I need to know that I still could after everything that had happened on Mortis. I needed to know that it hadn't changed me. 

Oh, and speaking of Mortis, the hilt I had spoken of was the dagger that the Son was going to use to kill the Father. Yep, the dagger of Mortis was just a hilt, but it could become a dagger when held so I made sure that it was hidden in the back of my sash should I need it. For some reason everyone else seemed to have forgotten than it existed. And I accidentally took it with me when we left the planet. Oops.

I strutted down the line looking at the troopers, my inner membranes covering my eyes as they were wont to do. Tapping Rex on the shoulder, I said “Keep an eye that the others don’t go too far away.”

To the next I said “The optic interface of the crab droid might be hard to hit, but it will blind them so you can take them out later.” Next “Don’t stray too far away, and be aware of the lava.” It went along that vein until I reached two ARC Troopers who I knew from the attack on Kamino. Smiling at them I turned to the one I knew was Fives and said “Don’t let him get too far ahead of you.” Then at the one called Echo I said “Hand held energy shields don’t protect against larger artillery fire. Don’t be the first on the ramp, and take this.”

The Force told me to flip out my EMP gun and I handed it over without questioning that feeling. “I want that back, trooper, so take good care of it.” I was pretty sure that he could figure it out on his own, what with how blaster happy all of them were, so I didn’t bother to explain as I gave them all one last look and nodded my head decidedly.

That was all the help that I could give them. I wasn’t going, but I would be damned if I didn’t give them a little bit of an edge. I was confident that they would succeed, but that there would be loss. How much loss would depend on their actions.

They all saluted as I left and I gave each a smile. I hoped that it would not be the last that I saw of them, but I was not going to say anything like that. It made me happy that I had contingencies to help these brave men stay alive. Even after the war was over.

But now I knew that I needed to be more proactive in the other parts of my planning. Sidious needed to die. I did not know how, and I didn’t even know what I could do about it. But I knew who I had to talk to about it. I knew that someone out there could be paid to do it as well. If I was lucky enough to be lucky.

Just because the chips didn’t work did not mean that the Jedi were safe. There was still a war going on, and the men were so very conditioned to be loyal to the Republic. The Chancellor at the top of the Republic was a figure that they had to listen to.

So I slipped out again in my Nexu garb as no one was watching me. I even snuk around the 212th clones stationed to look out for me this time as well. I know that I did that far too often, but this was not something that I wanted them in on at all. I didn’t even what them to have a hint of it. Plausible deniability was a thing. And it was also technically treason.

Though, if I got around them too many times they were bound to cotton on to what I was doing. And that was another thing that I could not have either if I wanted to keep my secret outings secret. 

As seemed to be my new normal, I was once again asking to use the privet room in the back of the bar, only this time I was also paying a lot more so that I would not be interrupted. And just as I knew would happen, within a half an hour the door opened and my bounty hunter came in. I gave her a nod as she entered and took out a device.

I watched silently as she swept the room for listening devices before giving a shake of her head to show that it was clear and sitting down in front of me. “My Queen,” she said softly, waiting for me to speak.

I thought for a moment as I nervously tapped the glass of water I had gotten before on the table to make a hollow ‘tap, tap, tap’ sound. This was going to have to be delicate. It was going to have to be secret, and I needed to say it right the first time around. Carefully I started “I need someone dead. Someone who frightens me. Powerful in more ways than one, but hides his danger. I want to do it in a way that none would know it was related to me or any of my people. A single mistake could be a sentence worse than death.”

Her eyes narrowed as she sat straighter in her seat. There was a calculating edge to her eyes as she saw that I was afraid, and that I needed this to happen. Finally, she responded by saying “Tell me all of the details you can, and I will see it done.” There was a chime that sounded something like victory in the Force.

“Alright.” I breathed out a sigh through my nose in relief. “Both sides of this war are being played by the same person. Chancellor Palpatine is the Sith Lord the Jedi look for. I have no proof. But he is dangerous and more powerful than I could imagine. An accident might take him. A causality to a different target. Or a decision made so quickly that there is no time for countermeasures. But I need him dead and I don’t want any of us dead because of it.” I said quietly.

Her eyes widened at each word as she looked at me in shock. Then she shook herself and said “I will see it done, my Queen.” I could feel her weariness, but I could also feel a surge of excitement trill through her at such an important mark and assignment. Though, the Force couldn't tell me if this would work or not. Even if it hummed along happily. 

I breathed out in relief again and asked “Is there anything you need from me?” I was serious too. I would do anything that was needed if it meant that Palpatine was dead. I would cut off his head myself if I thought that I could get close enough to him to do it.

“Nothing, my Lady. You stay back and relax. I have codes for the bank account and can transfer funds to one of my shell accounts. You will leave this to me and relax. Everything will be taken care of.” She said strongly.

I smiled behind the voice synthesizer. “Of course. I trust you.” It was an assurance to her to make sure that she knew that I was comforted that she was doing this for me and that it meant a lot to me. This would be handled by professionals, and it wasn’t just be who was trying to get rid of the rot in the center of the Republic.

Sometimes to get the job done you had to delegate this kind of thing to people around you. Once you did that your support network could do what it was meant to do. Support you. I had surrounded myself with people who knew how to fight and who knew how to get what they wanted. They, in turn, would help me get what I needed.

We left the room and I sat down as I usually did and played a few rounds of sabacc. It felt invigorating to know that was finally being handled. The thrill of freedom was already pulsing through me, and it hadn’t even happened yet. And it might not happen for a while yet.

But that was alright.

That night I slept better than I had in a while knowing that I was doing all that I could be doing. Though, I accidentally let Wooley see me coming back in and he looked a bit heartbroken that I had gone out without telling them. It felt like I had kicked a puppy by the looks he was giving me. I was going to make sure to do something nice for them soon enough.

The clones were fighters. They had been fighting without me, and they would continue to fight when I was temple bound. They would do their best on this mission and hopefully come back to us. And when they did, I would be waiting for them.

My bounty hunter was good at what she did. Not the best, but she was good. She said that she would take care of the assassination of the Sith Lord, and I believed with all my heart that was what she was going to do. It would be taken care of, and I was going to hug her afterwards as well.

But there was a feeling that I couldn’t shake. That even as I was taking strides forward, something else was on the horizon. A darkness that I was going to have to find and fight on my own in order to overcome. It was chilling feeling as sleep finally claimed me.

…

Master came back later that week, a little worse for wear, but with the Master they went to get and Ahsoka still in tow from when she had secretly gotten into the carbon packaging to go with them. I had known she was going to get into the mission one way or another. I was glad that she was back though.

I was not expecting for Fives to see me and smile the biggest smile he could as he literally skipped over to me and crushed me in a hug.

“What?” I asked as I looked past him to Captain Rex and the smiling Echo who looked like he had a nasty burn on the side of his face that would probably go away with minimal scaring. But they were also smiling hugely.

Letting me breathe, but keeping his hands on my shoulders, Fives bent down to look at me in the eyes and said “You saved his life. We were going for the ship when we remembered your advice and it kept us both alive. And that gun you loaned him; it saved the General too. Thank you!” He said so sincerely that I couldn’t help but just smile at him.

“Then it was my pleasure.” I said easily enough. But when Echo stepped up to give me back the gun, I cocked my head to the side and listened for just a moment before I said “Keep it. I think you will be needing it more than me. I’ve barely used it at all.”

They nodded their thanks and left to go back and debrief they were already running late to. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No lies, Echo is my favorite clone. He died and I was like Luke when he learned that Vader was his father. "No. That's impossible! Nooooooo!"  
> And so now he lives because I say so.  
> Also, just because Nemira isn't there, doesn't meant that the war is still not killing everyone. And yeah, some people probably died on this mission, but not my favorites. Power to me!  
> Also, there is now a serious hit out on Palpatine! Like, a bounty and everything. It thrilled me to write that part!  
> Please let me know what you thought!


	34. How I Bluffed My Way into Command

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Republic invades Umbara. Nemira is put into a position that she never wanted to be in and must adapt if she wants any of them to survive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a favorite arc for some people. For me, it wasn't as I absolutely loved the Brain Invaders, but a lot of people liked this one.  
> I hope you all also like the changes that I have made.

“I don’t understand, why are we invading Umbara?” I asked with dread curling in my gut as the Negotiator raced through hyperspace. We had just received the orders, but they made no sense. “They are seceding from the Republic, I understand that, but that is their right. The Republic is a democracy, if one loses faith in it, they are allowed to leave.” I continued to say.

I was careful not to say this where anyone else could hear. But I needed to know. In the briefing it mentioned that they left because of the assassination of their senator. But the advisor to the chancellor was still an Umbaran. And they were still in Coruscant.

Master Obi-Wan sighed before he answered softly “The senate had ordered the invasion to stop Umbaran technology from getting into the hands of the Separatists.” It was an almost mechanical response, as if that was what he himself had been told over and over again. 

“This isn’t right.” I said even softer, and I could feel the dread hardening into a rock in my gut. But I was still looking up to my Master in the quiet nook that I had cornered him in.

He looked so sad then, as if the years were catching up to him even if he was still young. He looked at me in the eyes, his clear blue eyes almost stealing my breath with just how defeated they were. “We do what me must.” He said simply, but I could feel that there was even more that he wasn’t telling me.

I thought of that as I backed up and watched as he walked away. The senate ordered it. The GAR would have come no matter what. But the Jedi were forced into serving the GAR. To say no might have been looked to as treason. I had to go through this not as a Jedi, but as the Commander under one of the High Generals. As an army officer and not as a peace keeper. 

Something in the Force chimed in agreement.

I sighed and looked into the feeling. There were several. But most important was that there was somewhere I needed to be during this. I couldn’t be next to my Master, I had to be with the Troopers in blue.

Running back up to reach Obi-Wan who was a few turns a head of me, I said “I understand. But I have to be with the 501st. Something is going to happen, and your former padawan is going to be called away. It would be best to have another Jedi with them who they know. Please.” I added the please as I realized that I was sounding rather demanding.

Giving me a sideways smirk, he answered “If you feel that is best.”

I wonder sometimes if he allowed me to get away with so much because of how vivid my feelings and visions were, or if it was just his kind of teaching. Sometimes it felt only that he was humoring me. But then, in other times it felt as if he really was in agreement. This time seemed like the first option and not the second. Obi-Wan Kenobi was a man full of contradictions and sometimes I really couldn’t guess what was going on inside of his mind. But I also trusted him in a way that I didn’t trust anyone else.

…

The briefing was short and sweet. Anakin seemed a little skeptical with having me with his group, but he didn’t say anything. Fives and Echo were glad to see me though. They had just come back from more ARC training apparently and were back with the 501st. I clocked my EMP gun strapped to Echo’s side and couldn’t help but send a smile their way.

We loaded into the gun ships and centered ourselves. Our job was to be sneaky as Master and a few other Jedi were going to be taking the capital. Hopefully this would be a simple mission as the briefing seemed to be geared to.

We departed from the ship into the foggy, cloud filled atmosphere with limited light and blasts all around. The men were filled with anticipation, some excited, others nervous. I watched as Rex checked in with Tup, a new comer to the battalion. Tup was not a shiny, he had paint on his armor, but he was so very young.

I just kind of knew that he had shown promise, and so he had been pushed through training faster and deployed a bit earlier. He was nervous, and under the helmet he would look younger than the others as well. Most of these guys were pushing twenty-five. When Fives and Echo first came, they were only about eighteen or nineteen, but he seemed even younger than that.

We were dropped off on the strange lands, the clones on walkers going out first to get through to the advanced weaponry that was already firing on us. Then we were jumping off to push forward as well. Green blasts clashing with our blue ones. It was strange. Usually we saw red blaster fire. It just cemented in me that this wasn’t right, but I pushed through it.

We were taking heavy losses as we advanced, but we were driving the local militia back as well. They were retreating. Visibility was horrible, and we had the low ground. We were literally sprinting up the hill as fast as we could to claim the ridge.

As if that was not bad enough, the plants that lined the hill were against us as one opened its gaping mouth and tried to eat the group. Fives only just got rid of it with a grenade down its mouth. But this entire place was going to give me nightmares for years, I just knew it.

We ended up digging into the trenches on the ridge, and I made my way to General Skywalker and Captain Rex as they looked over the field to the others fighting. We did not have the entire Legion with us that was the 501st, only a bit more than a battalion as the others were split among the forward troops.

“General Kenobi’s battalion, sir?” Captain Rex asked with his helmet off. It was then I noticed the strange way that the light made us look. The clone’s eyes seemed to almost glow as their pale skin looked almost sickly. Rex also had blond hair that seemed to stand out as nearly glowing as well. I was very much visible with my golden skin, especially since I was wearing the dark blue shirt again that blended in nicely. What a strange word this was.

“They’re pushing towards the capital. We’ll need to move out as soon as the men are ready.” He answered.

Another clone came running over and said “All platoons have reported in, General.” I didn’t recognize him, but he seemed younger in a way.

“Get some rest.” He said, but then the clone seemed a little out of it. Dogma was his name. I guess he had a bit of a nervousness to him. He wanted to be doing more, but he was loyal to orders. It was strange to see someone that awkward in this battalion around Skywalker who was a bit loose with the rules and regulations.

I hummed as I looked out over the battle field before us. Something then shivered down my spine. I turned by head, thinking, and then my eyes widened as one word came out “Ambush!” It was louder than I meant it to be, but all of them were up and ready in an instant.

I twirled to look at our backs as my lightsaber ignited and the Umbarans saw that we knew they were there and attacked. Rex was quick to call for an air strike as a small silver fish like machine started to electrocute people. Skywalker took care of it as I continued to send back green bolts to where the enemy was hiding.

We were running to the south, giving ground just in case. Then when finding cover the sabers were flipped off and there was silence that washed over us in its own eerie way.

“So you think those bombers are coming?” Tup asked nervously.

The silence only seemed to stretch before they flew overhead and dropped the bombs right where we needed them to. “Good old Oddball, always on target!” The trooper beside him said. This one had the symbol of the Republic gear painted over most of his helmet and had the matching tattoo on his face.

…

We were in the midst of planning when I felt that whatever was going to take away General Skywalker was coming closer. No sooner had I started to look around then a gun ship with a fighter escort touched down and we all watched as a huge Besalisk came out. I couldn’t stop the reflexive swallow when a feeling of dread ran through me.

The Supreme Chancellor, his royal darkness, Lord of the Sith, and creeper extraordinaire, had requested Anakin Skywalker from the front. And Master Pong Krell was to take over in the interim. Of course there was nothing anyone could really say about the matter to change it.

“Master Krell, this is Master Obi-Wan's Padawan Firrerreo, and this is my first in command, Rex. You won’t find a finer, or more loyal trooper anywhere.” He introduced.

I wondered idly for a moment if Skywalker even knew that wasn’t my name. Then I pushed it aside as unimportant. I was more annoyed with the fact that I had not been given my military title and had been downgraded to just someone else’s padawan. Captain Rex (who I admit was pretty awesome) got endorsed, and I was just mentioned.

The moment that Anakin was out of view, Rex tried to give the new General a compliment to feel him out, and that attempt was smacked down with an insult to clones. I sucked in a breath but said nothing as I eyed the large Jedi. His reputation truly did proceed him. Both inside the temple and out.

He had a high success rate, but also had a high casualty rate. I remembered form before the war he was a monster in the sallies with his multiple light staffs and physical prowess. He had been looked at in awe and fear. And now I felt as if he was going to be turning things around here really bad. He never did talk to other people, and when he did he didn’t usually say kind things about them.

I had once thought that might be a species thing. But then Master Obi-Wan took me to a diner while we were in Coruscant and I had met Dexter. Dex was a jovial man with a kind heart, even if he had a rather brutal sense of humor. I liked him as an example of a Besalisk a lot better.

There were looks shared when he ordered to ready everyone to move.

…

He had us marching for twelve hours straight, with no care to how he was angering the troops and no mind to the fact that we had just finished a very tiring battle. I said nothing yet as my mind went through what I knew, what I would know, and what I could do. But I could tell as my face stayed almost black of expression that the clones around me could tell that I was not happy.

And I had yet to say anything. Echo had already placed a hand on my arm in question, but I had shaken my head. This wasn’t the time to be talking about this. And if something happened, I would save my words for then. Krell’s anger and aggression and over all lack of care for life had me on edge just as it had with everyone else. But under that there was a burning cold to him in the Force that was stealing my breath away.

If he was dark, there was very little I could do. He was stronger, faster, and just plain better than me. If I moved to act, I was endangering this entire battalion. And I was not going to hurt these men more than they were already hurting. Not to mention our mission was needed for the other battalions as well. And so inside of my mind I dawned my mask of being a Queen and I plotted; looking for any loop hole I could find.

He at one point was yelling at the troops and I felt my hand go to my lightsaber. Hell, the men around me saw my hand go to the lightsaber. But I didn't made a scene just then as a plan solidified. 

“Sir, ready to bring out the front platoons to perform a surgical strike on the defenses.” Rex announced as we got to our destination.

“There won’t be any need, Captain.” Krell answered.

“Sir?” Rex asked confused.

Continuing and strutting forward, he said “All platoons will execute a forward assault along the main route to the city.”

As Rex was about to argue, I stepped forward and said “With all due respect, that was not the plan given to us by the General of this Battalion and the High General in charge of this assault. To change the plan without the express order of either is folly. This battalion is one of the best because of the plans that they create. It would serve no one to change that.” My chin was up as I spoke and I did my best not to show that all due respect translated to no respect from me.

“I am in charge now, Padawan, and this is the course I have decided on.” He answered with a sneer.

I wasn’t going to pull this out, not yet, but I was not going to just go with this insanity any more. I could see how many would die if I did not intervene. The only problem was that I was not even sure if I could. So here went my mouth spouting BS on what I hoped was the truth.

“It is true that as a Master of the Order you outrank me in Jedi business.” I said curtly. But just as he was gearing up sneer something else at me, I continued, “But as the highest ranked Commander under one of the High Generals I outrank you in Militant regards, Pong Krell.”

I spoke his name strong and with reprimand in my voice loud enough for the troopers all around us to hear. It was the highest form of slight among my people, and it demonstrated perfectly that my knowing of his name had me placing him below me in terms of power. I knew that he would not challenge me yet. I could fell that much in the Force. 

Plus, I had no idea if that was true or not, however, it did make sense. If in a battle Master Obi-Wan was down for the count, in normal circumstances control would go to me and not the next closest General around. Skywalker actually got demoted with his promotion to Knight if this was true.

While fury warred in his eyes, I continued by saying “The plan agreed upon was multiple attacks from different angles, surprising them and appraising what we are up against.” Then I looked to Captain Rex, steel in my eyes and assuming authority as if it was owed to me as I commanded “Captain, ready the troopers as you were. Make sure they remember the plan.”

There was a pause were his amber eyes flickered from me to Krell and back again, before he connected my own leaps of logic and saluted me quickly with a crisp “Yes, sir!”

Just like that, the entirety of the Battalion knew that my orders were paramount.

“You little—” he started to advance on me, making the troopers around me nervous as they had no idea what was going to happen, or why there seemed to be dissent in the Jedi leaders they had.

I stopped him again by saying “I mean to start no in fighting during this campaign. We all have things we must do.”

“And yet Skywalker was clearly in charge when I arrived!” He argued back loudly.

My chin came up again and I retorted “He knows these troops, fights with them constantly, and has their trust. Their experience with him is worth more than my authority. In the time you have been here to take over you have squandered all orders he has given them, estranged yourself from them, and ignored their basic needs. This is now my campaign, and you will have to deal with that.”

It was more violent and confrontational than I had wanted it, but I was not backing down from this. It was all a lie. But it was a logical lie that in the middle of this conflict he couldn’t completely call me out on.

It was worth it to save as many of these men as I could.

We advanced as was planned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was almost very, very different. To the point that the ending was going to be just about opposite of what it is now. But that was the thought I had before I got to physically writing this point in the story. As it is her character has grown in such a way that she wouldn't have taken Krell's attitude laying down. No, she is now a queen of a system, she was going to fight tooth and nail if she had to.  
> I just hope that I conveyed everything in a way that others understand. This is perhaps a huge step for Nemira.  
> Please let me know what you thought and thank you for reading!


	35. How to Take an Airbase

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the Umbara campaign continues Nemira finds herself balancing precariously between success and doom. This is about how much she can push until it releases Krell's rage over the tipping point.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright!   
> First, I want to thank everyone for letting me know your thoughts about last chapter! Admittedly I was pretty nervous about how it was going to be received, but you guys seemed to really like it!   
> I hope that this chapter only adds to what I have set up last time!

Okay, so knowing that I made the decision to take over, I knew that I needed to let my master know what I had done just in case he contacted us. Good news was that somehow my phone worked in this nebula and I was free to send a message to Master Sinube to send a message to my Master. I know, it was overly complicated and downright horrible of me to go behind backs like this, but I was afraid.

The message basically said everything that I wanted him to know. That Krell was going to do his best to kill the 501st, that I was pretty sure he was if not fallen then he was in some way connected to the enemy, or just an idiot at tactics, and that I had assumed command by referencing the chain of command under him. I wasn’t sure if the message would get through, but I dearly hoped that it did.

I knew that I couldn’t expect help from Master Obi-Wan during this campaign. It was one of the reasons that I had mentioned that I couldn’t take him and I was biding my time. We needed to finish all of this as quickly as possible. And to do that we needed to play the long game. Not to mention with everything going on Master Obi-Wan literally could not physically get to me to help in any way. With all of the fighting going on there had been a reason that we had gone over all of the plans before landing on the planet. 

We were still fighting our way to the Capital when I got a call on my comm. We were under heavy fire and there were a lot of things happening at once. Umbarans were firing, their fighters were swooping down on us, we were taking every cover we could as we slowly inched our way forward. It was brutal and horrible, and I knew we all knew that it would have been ten times worse if we had tried to use the main road.

When I answered it to see that it was Master Kenobi, I was relieved that my message had to have gotten through to him. There were tight lines around his eyes, and I could tell that he was not happy with me, but he was also going with it for as long as he could. That was good. I could handle this.

“The capital city is too fortified. We need your battalion to help us take it!” He called out.

“A little busy at the moment, Master. The Umbarans have a lot of heat between us and the city. We aren’t doing to hot out here.” I answered strained as I blocked another bolt with my saber, covering the medic, Kix, as he looked after his brothers.

“We’ve gathered intel on an airbase to the west. It is resupplying the capital’s defenses.” Master said before someone yelled to get down. I did crouch out of the way as something impacted the ground ahead of me and sprayed dirt over all of us. Obi-Wan just continued “If you could capture that airbase, it will sever the capital’s supply lines, allowing the rest of our forces to move in.”

“Got it. We are the closest. We will take care of it, Master.” I said in a steely voice.

He looked at me seriously and said “Remember, Padawan, this entire invasion depends on your battalion.”

“I know. May the Force be with you.” I answered. He echoed, and I turned to Rex and called out “Order a retreat, we retreat to the west to find the airbase. Let them think they have this front for the moment. We have to get to that airbase.”

“Yes, sir!” He answered quickly. He called it, and we were backing off.

…

We made it to a ridge and looked out over the base in the distance. It was a pillar going up into the air with blue lights glowing softly. I wondered if the others were having a harder time seeing it as my vision was mostly dipped into the ultra-violet spectrum on this planet.

As Rex reported what he saw, I started to formulate a new plan in my mind. I was not expecting Krell to confidently state a plan he thought worth following. I was double not expecting it to sound so stupid.

“We’ll advance along the central gorge, and engage them in a full-forward assault!” He said, and I couldn’t help but look at him strangely. Between being fallen and being an idiot, idiot was starting to feel more like the answer each time he gave a plan.

“Is that the only plan you can create? There’s the enemy, let’s run at them as hard as we can and hope the walls open up? No.” I critiqued sarcastically. The I turned to Captain Rex and said “Send a scouting party, I want to know numbers and terrain, check the defenses, but don’t be seen. Remind them not to step on anything on the ground. Even if it looks like a plant or a bug.”

With a nod he went over to Fives and Echo and sent them off. Meanwhile, Krell seemed to be nearing the end of his wits.

“I will have you know I have won quite a few battles. We don’t have time to scout, we should be attacking now and not wasting time. As General Kenobi said, this invasion is relying on this mission!” He said in supposed self-righteous anger.

I spared him an annoyed look. “Yes, and it will be a quicker and less costly victory if we have time to properly prepare ourselves. We need a complete victory of this base, and not a prolonged battle. A decisive victory won not through brute force, but through strategy. We are all tired. This is a needed venture. It will be quicker in the long run to know these facts now. Then we can rejoin efforts in taking the capital and breaking the blockade.”

He said nothing back as we waited. I could tell that the men were not feeling great about this, but they still had their trust in me. It had started when I had said no the Krell, and every time I looked over them and made changes they suggested and tried to help, they were throwing more of their trust in with me more. Skywalker had some crazy plans, but it was the care he showed his troops that won him their loyalty.

I had done my best to give them their best shot. I had covered the medics as they tried to save fallen brothers. I had said no to Krell when he brought out the next great idea to kill us all. I listened to them when they told me things and I did not treat them as less just because they were clones. There was some good morale in all of this darkness that was still with them, and it was the faith that I was doing the best that I could for them. A few of them were clinging to that and the fact that the other battalions needed us to succeed.

“You are a fool!” He snarled at me. Anger showing on his face. I mentally wished that he could keep his disguise on until after we took Umbara, but I was not keeping my hopes up. He was not yet pushed to his limits. That was good.

I ignored him and stepped out of reach as casually as I could. No fight would start now. Instead I brought out the holomap that I had scanned from the area and started to think. Well, plot is more like it.

When Fives and Echo came back, he reported to me and Rex, and I brought out the map once more to make notes on where to avoid and what was the most guarded. Then straightening I said “Get me three leads and a small strike force.”

Surrounded by clones, I announced while pointing at the map “We are going to try a bit of a Skywalker plan. I want a three pronged obvious attack with someone coming in on the west, north, and east of the battlements. Look for the high ground and do not get pinned. While the three groups distract, I want a small strike force to go through any opening, there should be one to the south if you are lucky, and get into the hangers with the supplies. If you can, use the heavy weaponry against them, if you can’t, blow it up. Questions?”

They all studied the map and I carefully noted the terrain that had been shared with me and where we were expecting the most difficulty. It was a risky plan; it was also simple. But it had to do with forces outside of my control and things I could divine on a dime. I knew that it would be good enough, but that did not stop that some men would die. I would be right there with them though.

He also reported on the tanks. Tanks that were strange and centipede like and needed rocket launchers. I okayed that as well and we were off.

The fighting was just as bad as always. I was with the middle group, the one most likely to be pinned down. Krell had decided to wait with the additional troops on the walkers up on the cliff and send reinforcements where they were needed. Not that I expected he would send anyone if asked for help.

At one point I ran the length of one with my saber cutting through it and it sparked into an explosion of death. I saw the launchers being sent where needed and wounded being dragged to safer areas. There were a lot of wounded. A clip and they would keep going, but these guys were getting crushed and hurt. But this had to be a success.

Just when the real heavy tanks came through, three fighters started to fly wobbly overhead and shoot at them. Joy rippled through my chest as I saw this. The strike team had gotten through. They had gotten through and they were helping us as best they could.

“Press the advantage! We are almost there!” I called to the men to rally them. And seeing the fighters, they were happy to be rallied. We rushed in and overwhelmed the last of the defenses, taking prisoners who surrendered their weapons and taking them to into holding.

I was quick to secure a place inside for the med area as well as a base of operations.

When Krell finally came, it what when I was congratulating the Strike team. Fives, Echo, Hardcase, and Jesse had done very well, and I was sure to let them know it. But the moment I heard the voice of the other Jedi my face went slack again.

I could tell that it worried the men, but I did not trust myself to be free around him. I did not trust my mouth to not start spouting something or another that would let him decide the time was right to show his true colors. Truer colors than he was already showing, in any event.

He then spewed that we were fortunate, that luck had smiled down on us. Rex made to say something, but I carefully put a hand on his shoulder to let him know that though I was here, I did not want him to say anything that would get him into trouble. So instead I stepped forward.

“A great many Jedi Masters at the temple would argue that luck does not exist. We won this base because of the dedication and strength showed by the Troopers with us. We sustained heavy losses, but with the supply line cut, we have saved ourselves from many more.” I said showing that I understood the gravity of this situation, and I did not take kindly to someone who didn’t even fight telling my troopers that their sacrifices meant nothing.

“That is the price of war. Surely you have already discovered that, padawan.” He said with disgust in his tone and anger around his eyes.

“You forget, this is in all technicality, my third invasion of a planet. I was there when we freed Ryloth, and I was on the front lines during the second invasion of Geonosis. More than a few of these men were on Geonosis as well. Casualties are a part of war, but it is not luck that wins the fight. It is the honest work of the soldiers under our command.” I said sharply.

He hummed in disinterest, then he turned and walked away, dismissing me without actually saying anything. I hadn’t realized until that moment that my distaste for the man could get any worse. But right then, I think that for a moment I knew hate. But I forced myself to let it go. Jedi did not hate. Hate led to the dark side. And if there was something that I had promised myself, it was that I would not fall to the dark side.

“Thank you, sir.” A voice said from next to me, and I almost jumped in surprise. I hadn’t thought the men were going to speak to me instead of splitting off to do what they needed to.

“For what?” I asked as I turned to him. It was Fives who was next to me as Rex was standing there with his fist clenched starting to where Krell had gone.

Fives flashed me a smile. “For taking over. I know that you saved us from worse fights. General Krell is known for winning, but he also has some of the highest casualty rates. You lead us how Generals Skywalker and Kenobi do. From the front, and keeping us alive as best you can.” He said.

I couldn’t stop the smile that came to me at that. Then I said, knowing that the other troopers who were still standing in the half circle could hear “I’m doing my best. My goal is to get as many of us through to the end of this war as I can. Jedi are peace keepers, we weren’t meant to fight like this. And it is killing us little by little. But more important than peace is that we are supposed to value all life. You and your brothers offer some of the best living beings I have ever met. After I met you all, there was never a doubt in my mind that I was going to fight for you.”

They all traded looks at that, and I could see them warm slightly from their anger toward the other Jedi in our midst. That was good.

Before leaving them to their assigned tasks, I added “If any of you do anything that might instigate the ire of Krell, make it seem as if you were doing as I ordered. Those fighters are rather temperamental.” Once again using the name to drip disdain from it in a way that they would probably never hear again.

They snapped off a salute at that. I just hoped that I didn’t give them any bad ideas. I had to report our success to Master Obi-Wan.

I commed my master in the middle of the base away from anyone but the troopers. In fact, Captain Rex was right next to me as he had taken to being stationed. I think he was so used to standing next to Skywalker and relaying orders, he wasn’t sure where else to be during this strange time.

“Master, do you read me?” I asked as his image appeared on the communicator.

“Congratulations on your capture of the Umbaran airbase, Padawan. It is refreshing to have good news.” Master said as he seemed to give me a hard once over. I could see stress in the lines on his face, and even a searching look in his eyes. It was clear he was making sure I was alright.

I gave him a small smile “Yes, now all that’s left is the capital. Are you doing alright? We can back you up if needed. The men are securing the surviving locals in holding cells as we speak.” Also as I spoke Krell made his way to our circle to stand over us and look down at the transmission.

I was carefully eyeing him as he approached, and when close enough my smile turned into my schooled expression and my back straightened. Almost in response to that, Rex became perfectly at attention at my right and Dogma, the nervous little trooper Anakin had been teasing Rex about earlier, took position on my left. It was a clear divide between him and us. I know that Master Obi-Wan could see that whatever was happening, the clones were on my side of it, and it was by choice with how they formed up when the other General came into view.

It was not something that I had wanted, but it was there, and there was nothing I could do to change it. Besides, it kept them away from Krell while also showing Obi-Wan that though my taking of leadership may be strange, it was widely accepted. I was holding my own.

“I’m afraid things over here are more difficult than anticipated. Their attacks have increased, and their long-range missiles are forcing us to retreat from our positions.” He explained as lightly as he could.

I shared a look with Rex, that did not sound good. “Has cutting off this branch of their supply lines given you any relief?” I asked even as the Besalisk seemed to want to open his mouth to talk. This was concerning.

“Some, but it seems they’re receiving new arm shipments directly from a supply ship orbiting the planet.” He answered. Then his transmission buzzed slightly, as if experiencing interference. But it wasn’t too bad yet.

“Can’t we destroy the supply ship?” Captain Rex spoke up as I was thinking of what to do next. This did not sound good at all. Cut off one arm and there was another right there to pick up the slack, or so it seemed. 

Master Obi-Wan seemed to droop a little as he said “We’re trying, but with little success. Their fleet outnumbers ours, and the extra ships we were promised have not yet arrived.” So with no support we needed to do something about it ourselves. Based on his posture, I had a feeling that Cody was holding the holocomm. Which meant that he was listening in as well.

“We’ll just have to take the capital regardless of the missiles!” Krell announced as he uncrossed his two upper arms and spoke with confidence that had both me and Rex looking at him as if daring him to say more. Which he did “My battalion will meet you at the rendezvous coordinates.” Even my Master was looking at him and questioning that lack of logical or strategic planning.

“No.” I said shortly but strongly before he could say anything more. The signal warbled once more before, but stabilized for the time being. “We are at an airbase; I have ARC troopers with me and a lot of enemy technology here. We will have a small team plan to take care of that supply ship and then once that is finished, we will join with you to take the capital.” A plan was already half formed in my mind as I said it.

“That will be difficult, Padawan, but I have faith in you and the men. I will be waiting for when you arrive with the rest of your men.” Master Kenobi said, agreeing with me and ignoring the stupid suggestion from the other General. I think he caught on to how I was handling the larger Jedi. “May the Force be with you.” He added at the end.

“And also with you.” I answered before turning off the communications.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there we have it!   
> And a little bit of a cliffhanger. Not much of one, but it is kind of there.   
> I hope you all liked it!  
> Please let me know what you thought!


	36. How to Fight a Traitor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything comes to a tipping point. It's no wonder that a fight breaks out. Now Nemira just has to survive it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was fun and hard to write at the same time. But I should probably put why at the end of chapter so that no spoilers happen.   
> Warning, there be lots of fighting here.   
> I hope you like it!

I took a moment to close my eyes, take a deep breath, and organize the plots that were flying through my brain. Of course, that would have been easier without the Besalisk Jedi bearing down my neck.

“We should advance on the capital now, in a full-frontal attack and overwhelm them with or without the missiles they have!” He argued with me, rage starting to roll off of him.

My eyes opened and I gave him a hard look “That is a needless waste of the lives that are counting on us for leadership. That plan of attack has not worked for the other three generals and their battalions who are currently in retreat. Our numbers, while large, will not make much of a difference. Destroying the supply line further is less risk and has more payoff. I’m sorry that the only strategy you currently have is to use us like a battering-ram, but I was taught to think of far more sophisticated and civilized plans.”

I know that I was sharper than needed with him, but I ignored that as I turned to Rex and Dogma and ordered “Captain, get me the ARC Troopers, and anyone else you think we may need to be involved in this plan. Private, get me a bag of detonators.” The two snapped off salutes before running to do as I said, and I stalked forward towards the munitions crates and moved a couple around to make a table for planning.

Dogma was first back with the pack filled with the small detonators that we used. Not the grenades, but the ones I had helped to put in the weapons factory. Half spheres that could magnetize onto things. I have him a sharp nod as I thought about why I had ordered them. It was really just a nudge that had me ordering for them to go with the group.

As I waited for the ARCs I let myself delve just a little but further. I didn’t know what I needed, but I knew that I would need something, to say or to do. Fives and Echo along with Rex would let them all know to believe my words. So I was not afraid of saying them.

When everyone needed was gathered, I looked from one to another. The strike team; Fives, Echo, Hardcase, and Jesse were the team I knew would be going, but there was also Rex, Tup, and Dogma who were around. The group was small, but big enough that everyone would know that they were doing something important.

“Well gentlemen, there is a problem, and I have volunteered us to fix it.” I announced with more confidence then was needed. Helmets were already off, so I could see a few smirks being shared. I had echoed what Skywalker had said at the start of this mission. “The seppies are supplying the capital with munitions from directly above. I propose that we use those nice Umbaran fighters you liberated and go up to destroy said ship. Thoughts?”

“That sounds like fun!” The trooper I knew was Hardcase said with a large grin.

“Count us in, Sir!” Echo said as he and Fives elbowed each other.

Jesse just kind of smirked and nodded his head in excitement. That was good. It meant that they were good to go and agreed that this plan was doable. I was not sure if they would like this kind of a plan, there was a lot of reliance on chance, and we did not know the technology as well as we could have. A lot of things could go wrong for them. But, that was also what made a Skywalker plan so dangerous. 

“Good. Now listen up.” I said as I leaned on the makeshift table. I didn’t actually have holos to show or something to draw with, but I knew they were all smart and clever and could listen to a plan when I put it forth. “Get used to the ships on your way up, be careful with them, make sure you know how to at least fly them before going up into the fight. Once there, I have a feeling you lot would figure out what to do, but let me make it easier for you. Find a way in and towards the main reactor.” My finger traced lines that weren’t actually there as I said this.

Then I said “I think there will be a ray shield that will go up when you get close. This is the tricky part, you will either have to deactivate the shield or find a way around it.” I paused as I looked right at Hardcase and said “Don’t be a kriffing hero. I want all of you in there, and I want all of you to get out of there safely. Use these detonators and blow the thing up if getting out of the fighters is the only way!”

That was when I handed Hardcase the pack. I could tell that Fives and Echo were both clued in to the fact that I was pretty sure that Hardcase had the largest chance of dying on this mission. And because I did that and gave him the detonators and not one of the ARC Troopers that were going, he would be in the position to get that done. And they would watch him just in case.

“Any questions?” I asked. There were none, they were all geared up and ready. That was good. It also meant that I didn’t have to worry about them as much. They were independent thinkers. I gave them the bones of the plans as I did not have all the intel, and they were going to have to deal with the specifics.

I gave them a nod and dismissed them after that, the four nearly whooping at they went to the captured hanger and warned the others to get out of their way. After a few fumbles, I watched as the four fighters flew into the distance. It was a lot to put on their shoulders, but I couldn’t think of a different way. And I was not a pilot, so having me up there would have been no help at all.

…

We were rewarded by the sky lighting up after a while, and I knew that they had done it. A smile curled over my face, as well as Captain Rex’s face as we glanced at it. It could have been anything, but we knew that it had been the team. And it didn’t take too long for them to come back down with all four of the fighters.

“Well done!” I said with a bit of a laugh as they landed triumphantly. I would have pulled them into hugs, but I knew that now was not the time for it. Especially not with Krell right there and watching with disgust on his face.

I let them celebrate for a moment before I called out over the crowd “Alright Troopers, that is another victory for us, but the 212th and the others are still counting on this battalion! Pack it up and get ready to move out! We have other vode to save!” My speech was received with a loud cheer and the groups raced off to do as told.

I was preparing myself when a couple of men ran up to me. I didn’t recognize them or their armor, but one said “Sir, over there we have a couple of scouts from the 212th looking for you. They said General Kenobi said to be discrete.”

“Thank you, troopers. As you were.” I said softly myself as I quickly walked to the place they had gestured to. Rounding a building, I was surprised to see Waxer and Boil of all troopers there waiting for me in the shadows of one of the glowing red plants.

“Hello there.” I said, echoing my Master’s manner as Captain Rex had also peeled off from the others to stand behind me. He must have had a sixth sense for when something interesting was happening as there was no other way he would be that close.

“Commander!” Waxer said happily, clearly glad to see me. Then his countenance shifted as he got serious and said “We were already being sent here to check on you when the General commed us about something sent from your battalion.”

I shared a look with Rex, to the best of our knowledge there had been no call to my Master that I was not a part of. I looked back and asked “What did it say?”

“It was a trooper dressed as a scout. They claimed that the Umbarans were stealing armor and weapons from fallen vode and planning a big move.” Boil answered quickly.

My eyes widened and I could feel a growl rumble through my throat, and out of it as it startled the others. I don’t think that I had ever growled around them, and it was definitely not a sound that a human could make. The inner lids covered my eyes for a moment as I tried to reason that maybe the information just hadn’t had time to be shared to me, but that did not make sense either. This was some sort of plot. And suddenly it downed on me.

“I have heard no such rumors. But I imagine that I am soon going to. What would have happened if both battalions were told, and then they both went to check it out?” I asked with my voice hard. I could tell all three of them understood what was happening as I phrased it like that. They all stiffened.

“Who would do that?” Waxer asked through clenched teeth.

I looked back at the tower of the airbase and said “A fallen Jedi turned traitor.” Then I looked at them and said quickly “He is about to tell me about this and try to send a unit to investigate, I am going to call him out to his face. If he truly has fallen and isn’t just the idiot I was hoping he was, there will be a fight. Captain, I need you to ready the men. He uses two light staffs as you have seen, make sure you don’t come too close. I will do my best, but I don’t know if I will win. You two should tell my Master. I will do my best, but I am not sure how good that will be.”

I didn’t know if I would win. Krell was better than me in every single way. But at least he would not take me by surprise.

“Sir, you can’t!” Boil argued before the other two could.

I scoffed “I don’t have a choice. If I do not, he will kill us all. Or at the very least a very large number of us.” I said with certainty. “Now go!” they reluctantly did as they were told, Waxer laying a hand on my arm for a moment before he left and Boil was already messing with his communications as they ran.

But I knew that Master Obi-Wan was not going to make it in time. Rex had to inform his brothers in case I was down and they had to protect themselves. This was such a mess.

No sooner was I in view of the large Jedi as he dragged, metaphorically, me to the tower and showed me the sketchy communications of a trooper calling about the plot. I could see that the two communications clones that had stationed themselves there were both outraged at the Umbarans for trying to take the armor.

The armor of the clones was almost a sacred thing. One did not wear a piece that did not belong to them. Their helmets were their faces. The designs were their souls. It was important. I had been there as Wooley had spent an hour just trying to figure out what he was going to put on his armor before he even got any paint.

But instead of saying that or listening to the urging of Krell, I looked at the large man and said almost sardonically “Congratulations, you just lied to my face.”

Time seemed to stop and I continued as my hand inched closer to my blade “I received a message from the 212th asking about a transmission that sounded very close to this one. Down to the same baring. Tell me, Pong Krell, what would have happened if two groups of fully uniformed troopers from two separate battalions went to investigate this lead?”

The two troopers with us stiffened in realization as I felt the fury of Krell increase.

“You should have minded your own business, Padawan.” The Besalisk hissed as his top two arms lifted to the two light staffs. It seemed that I was right in my fears.

I swallowed as I carefully walked around the room and in front of the window on the far side of the room. “Why are you trying to kill the men?” I asked. My voice was weaker than I wanted it to be, but now I was hoping to stall as much as I could. I didn’t really want him to answer me, or know what was going through his head.

“These _clones_ are not men. They are things, bought and paid for, and expendable. One day, they will turn on us all. I was just making it so that there were less of them around when that happened. Dooku was right about the order, you are all stagnant and arrogant. Just look at you!” He snarled.

I swallowed as I watched his eyes change from brown into the fallen yellow color and red began to ring the iris. But I couldn’t help it as I said “If more people treated them like you are, then I won’t blame them if they did rise up. We are Jedi, it is our mandate to protect life, in all forms. What you were doing is wrong.” I sounded so sure of it, even as we did what we did at the order of the senate.

That seemed to be the tipping point and he roared and ignited the staffs as his mass flew towards me. I brought my own saber up and blocked without anchoring myself to the ground. The result had me breaking through the glass and flying out over the base and onto the ground away from the wall. I softened my blow as I rolled a couple of times and got up to a standing position.

I stood at just the right moment as Krell came flying through the hole I had created and rocketed towards me. There was no time for thinking or strategy as he swept his light staffs at me. I was blocking the strikes as best I could. My size and the fact that I had only one blade was both an advantage and a disadvantage.

Light staffs had a lot of openings. There was the circle of vulnerability around the grip, and a lack of maneuverability. Add to that he had two of them, and the overlap of their reach left some nice holes in his attacks. He was powerful and huge. His strategy was to overwhelm and nothing else. I had to work with what I had.

But I couldn’t think of that as I listened to any urging of the Force and moved to where I needed to go to stay alive. Pong Krell was a Master of the Order. And it showed. A few passes and already I had a searing burn across my left arm and a matching one just above my right knee. Nothing serious, but they hurt. They hurt so much!

I did not expect help as I was so close while fighting him, but I had forgotten that E2-M2 was on me. The little droid popped out and launched himself at the face of the Besalisk. It wasn’t much, E2-M2 didn’t have any weapons, but it was a good distraction. And I used it as I slashed one of his staffs in half, destroying it and rendering it useless.

Though in retaliation the brute knocked me back with one his arms as a now freed one reached up and snatched the droid, crushing it before throwing it away as if it was nothing. His other hand swept out with the still functioning staff and I had to roll away as quickly as I could. He let out another roar as he advanced.

I rolled to my feet and saw that the troopers had been roused by Rex and were trying to take aim. The problem was they knew not to shoot at lightsaber users when they were so close to one of the Jedi. There was a video that went out in the ranks of someone shooting at Ventress while she was fighting Skywalker, and the bolt had been deflected right at him, grazing his mechanical hand.

Running at me for another pass, I locked our sabers before he twisted them in a way that had both blades flying out and away from us. Though I was not sure how that was the case. I backed up quickly, tripping over a large vine as I took out the blaster that I had on me and shot at him.

I connected once with one of his meaty arms and then he was on me, knocking the blaster away and one of his hands was around my neck as he picked me up. I tried to yell, but I couldn’t. His large hand was crushing my throat, and I brought both of my hands up to try and loosen it so that I could breathe.

“Such a waste. You had talent. But now you will die.” Krell said as he brought me closer to him slightly.

My struggling just started more, but I could see that there was no good shot for the clones yet, they were still trying to get closer. I let my right hand down and to my back as my left clawed at the one choking me. Black spots started to show up in my vision, but I did not have the time for that. My fingers circled over the strange twisted hilt, and I took it out.

The dagger of Mortis formed mere seconds before I stabbed it into the chest of the man who was killing me.

He yelled and dropped me as he backed up, the blade coming free from him as he did so and I fell to the ground. I didn’t see it happen, I was too busy trying to breathe again, but the vine I had tripped over, it belonged to one of the man-eating plants. It picked up Krell and ate him. I don’t know if he was already dying from the stab, or if he was killed by the plant, but I knew that he was no longer a problem for me.

As I gasped and coughed and tried to stay alive while the shivers of shock ran through me, I felt a prick against my neck and saw Kix standing over me. He was talking, but I couldn’t hear anything. The blackness completely covered my vision, and I passed out.

…

I woke not long after, but long enough that the capital had been taken and we were being recalled to the ships in orbit to leave the clean up to other teams. I was on a LAAT with some of the other wounded when I woke, my saber at my waist, the dagger back at the small of my back, and my blaster strapped in its usual hiding place. One of the injured men told me all of that as I breathed carefully through my swollen throat.

On the ship, Master was waiting for me and followed us to the medbay. He was clearly feeling guilty about it, but I knew the bruising around my neck was probably already going down and my saber burns would be gone in a couple of weeks.

Still, it wasn’t every day that someone turned on you and tried to kill you. Especially when they were supposed to be someone you looked up to. Master and I would meditate on it for a long time when we had the time. But he was just glad that I was still alive and that I had still helped him down on the planet with how everything went.

A few days after and I had to tell the entire council everything that had happened. I don’t know what their findings were, but they listened as I spoke. I even told them that I wasn’t sure if I was right about ranking when I took over, but they told me that I was right about my rank. Somehow, my leaps of logic were right all along.

The 212th were so very happy when I was back in their clutches. And to be honest, I was relieved and almost jumping for joy to be back with them. Maybe someday I could really leave Umbara behind me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, how do you make a character who really isn't that powerful win in a fight? Because I could not make Nemira over powered. Well, in the fighting area at least. So what is a writer to do?   
> Well, I catalogued what all she had on her and just kept pulling out weapons to see what would work and added the deadly fauna of this ridiculous planet into the mix!  
> I hope that it was alright. I tried my best!   
> Oh, and there was no way in HELL I was going to let Waxer die. He is my second favorite clone. I will fight for him.   
> RIP E2-M2 I will miss you little buddy.   
> Please let me know what you thought, and thank you for reading!


	37. How the People Were Enslaved

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team heads to Kiros to find the fate of the peaceful Togruta colonists and instead stumble into something darker than they expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This have to get worse before they get better.  
> WARNING: slavery and violence

We were being sent to Kiros. A world colonized by Togruta artists who were as nonviolent as nonviolent could be. Considering that the Togruta native to Shili were known for being fierce hunters, there was a reason that they had chosen to be nonviolent off world and in a place that didn't have such frightening predators like the akul.The wildlife of Kiros were usually easily scared off by fire or domesticated into pets or livestock. 

Master Yoda had been on a call with their leader when the Separatist forces landed and took over. And it was clear that they would not fight back. I just hoped that it was not someone like Grievous who came to them, or they might all be dead by now.

It had been ten days, ten days to get us to them as it was a world that was so far out of our way and we needed to stop and mop up other battles along the way before we could even get to them. I was on the Negotiator with the 212th as Master was with Skywalker and the 501st on the Resolute. As such, I would be part of the second wave that went down to the planet. It was like this becasue Master Obi-Wan was convinced that I was still recovering and he was not ready to put me on an assault force just yet. 

Personally, I thought that I was doing rather well. There was no reason for the concern or the kiddie gloves that is seemed everyone had on around me. Yes, I had been beaten pretty badly by Krell, but I was completely fine now. All healed up and rested. There weren't even any scars left from the fight. That was how good my healing was. But I also knew that they were worried about me, so I let them coddle me for the time being and focused on collecting the data that was coming in.

There were no separatist ships in the area when we scanned the planet, and it was assumed that there was a shield or jammer situated over the colonists as we weren’t picking up on their life signatures through scans either. I had a feeling that they might not actually be there, but I didn’t want to think about that possibility just yet.

Finally getting down there, the world was absolutely beautiful. I could see why a colony of artists would want to settle down here, but that still didn’t explain why they were targeted. There was nothing of value here. Usually there was a reason for the Separatists invading a planet. Although Ryloth was a baron planet, their senator was fairly influential. Felusia was needed for medical resources. There was always a reason for invading a place, but I couldn't figure out the reason for this one. And the only thing that wafted through my visions was the clinking of metal and the sounds of mining. Though there were no mines here.

I was distracted from figuring out what to do with troops in making a search when Cody started talking to Master Obi-Wan. It seemed that there was a man who wanted to talk to Obi-Wan in the Governor’s Tower. He was a Zygerrian, a person who looked almost wolfish in looks, but also had bat like ears and bone protrusions that came out on their jaw line.

They were a people who the Jedi knew mostly as enemies. The empire they once held was one of slavery and slavers. They knew no honor and no light. I expected the disgust that filled most of us with dealing with one. But what I hadn’t expected was the anger that washed over Skywalker as he destroyed the holocomm. He was just about ranting about not being able to trust slavers. 

Honestly I could understand his misgivings, and his words ran through me like ice. “Master,” I stopped him before he left completely, “I don’t think the colonists are here anymore. I feel as if they have been moved.” I made sure that my voice was soft, but it just came to me that while there were no mines here, they still could have been taken to one.

“I still need to speak with him. You never know what information the enemy may give you during negotiations.” He said just as softly as he gave my shoulder a firm pat in assurance. I could only nod at him as he walked forward towards the contact point.

I had a bad feeling about all of this, but there was no way that I was going to announce that to the world.

Staying next to Commander Cody, we both stood by Ahsoka as Anakin held his wrist comm up and we listened to the talks. The fact that Dooku had been communicating at the beginning was not something that made any of us happy.

But we listened carefully to know what was going on. I don’t think any of us expected a bomb to go off when the Zygerrian decided to make a counter offer. Literally, we were all just standing there, and then to the left of one of the tanks a bomb exploded without warning, making all of us duck for cover.

I was not harmed, none of us in the center had been, but a good number of the men had been. I found myself kneeling next to Cody as we looked over CT-45-8326, he was no longer the shiny I remembered from the transport in Geonosis, but I didn’t know if he had chosen a name yet.

I was easing him into a better position when Skywalker called for Cody. “I’ve got them.” I told him quickly as I continued to support the fallen brother. Cody gave me a nod as he jumped up to help the General. But there was still work to do.

Looking at Waxer and Boil who were a little singed but not hurt I ordered “Check the structures around us for any more explosives! We need to know if it is safe to stay here!”

“Yes, sir!” They saluted before taking charge.

I was glad that Kix and Setter were here, not Rai though, he was still in the Negotiator. But I helped them form a quick triage area and made sure that the vod’e hurt were together so that they could get treated. I was not a healer, but I could ease pain with the Force and diagnose what wasn’t life threatening and what was.

We lost only three troopers, but a few more were injured. I was the ranking officer in charge of our base of operations that was currently pointed towards the tower. I needed to make sure that my Master got out of this in one piece.

Just as we were told the last of the bombs were done, something was pushed out of the tower and exploded on the way down. Because of course that would happen. Really, couldn’t we have one thing that did not result in something else exploding? I admit, I was getting a little tired of this planet already and I hadn't even been on it for more than a handful of hours. 

As Anakin and Ahsoka were sent to stop him, I ran with Commander Cody at my side to see to my Master and try and help him. He was a bit beat up from what I could see. His throat was red and there was bruising on his face.

“You really let him at you, Master.” I said softly as I jabbed his side gently and watched him wince. Yep, that would be bruised ribs too. There was no way I was not going to have him looked over by the medics.

“I had to stall him in a convincing manner.” He tried to defend himself as he straightened up and took a step away from me so that I couldn’t poke and prod at him anymore.

I think that Cody wanted to snort, but he was wise enough to just say “I think you convinced him.” With nothing else needing to be said, we walked him back down to the ground level and into the waiting hands of Kix, who had no problems treating Jedi and clones alike as if they were misbehaving younglings.

Medic trumps everything when in relation to health.

…

The council was not happy with the return of the Zygerrians. They were sending us to pursue them and find the colonists before finding a way to stop them from creating their slave empire once more. Though I think there could have been better ways to go about it.

“No, my alter ego will be killed on sight in an empire like this!” I hissed when Skywalker seemed to remember I had some pull in the underworld and we should probably use it. “I am notoriously and publicly against slavery. Maybe, and that is a definite maybe, if I separate from you, I can find one of my informants, but I cannot be on that planet with them knowing who I am. I would be slaughtered.”

He rolled his eyes at me. “Sorry, so we plan on you going off on your own. That’s fine too.” He said callously.

I hated this. Not to mention the information we were going off of was not from my sources. They were from Master Vos. And his sources were not reliable all the time. But we didn’t have time for me to go to my own people. We didn’t even have time to land anywhere.

So, it was me, Ahsoka, Master Obi-Wan, Knight Skywalker, and Captain Rex. The boys were all in variations of salver armor as Ahsoka was dressed to impress under a navy cloak and I was in modest clothing and a black cloak to hide my features. So many things could go wrong, and that was not even considering the few things I had seen in the future for this mission.

The moment that we passed through the gates, I separated from them, ignoring the glaring signs of suffering and bottling up my righteous anger as it would serve me no good here. There were fights being ignored on the streets, slaves being sold every which way. Hutts, Nemoidians, Pykes, Black Sun Falleen, and other lowlifes were inspecting the goods.

My cloak was a little bit different than I was used to, it was more like a monk’s robe, tired at the waist by a cord that split into two as it hung down. A subtle but clear show of who I represented. But only to those in the know. Others would not notice out here. Or, I hoped that they would not notice. I also happened to have four eyes painted on the back of my hand in red.

“You shouldn’t be here.” A voice spoke up from my left conversationally, coming up to me almost silently. I turned slightly, letting the person beside me as I continued to walk. He was Falleen. Interestingly enough he had the mark of the Black Sun on his shoulder, but it was scuffed, as if not painted over for a long time. Around his neck was a collar like necklace that had four ruby eyes, nexu eyes, looking out. He was perhaps a lieutenant, but he was really one of mine.

His skin was green and he was a heavy-set man, taller than me and taller than Skywalker. His hair was a dark black that seemed to shine blue as it glinted in the light. But that was only the pony tail that he had in the back as the rest of the hair was shaved off showing his reptilian skull structure.

I knew he was just thinking that I was a new person infiltrating this world, but I also knew that with incentive, he would tell me what I need to know. “I know. It is not by choice that I am here, but by necessity.” I said truthfully.

“We are careful in what we do here. Even more so as the slaves we free can never be found again. A new presence would be suspicious and hard to cover.” He hissed slightly. I knew that already; it was something that I always knew. But maybe I could turn it differently, and still help them.

Licking my lips nervously I murmured back “The Jedi are here. They are looking for Togruta colonists taken here perhaps a week or more ago from Kiros. They are going to mix things up soon. I don’t know if it will be to help you, or if it will hinder you, but I knew that you needed to know.” I wasn’t asking for the information now, because I somehow knew that I personally was not going to be the one to find the Togruta. But my people needed to know that something was coming.

“Ah, so you bring warning. Good. I will make sure the others know. You must not be caught, little one, or you will be in bonds as well. And believe me, it is harder to free enslaved spies than it is to get the children to safety.” He gave me warning as well.

I nodded my head to him. “I have no intentions of being caught, but if I am, I have made the necessary precautions that it will not stay that way. Worry not for me.” I said with confidence. And from a certain point of view it was true. I had Rex and Obi-Wan, and the rest of the Jedi and 212th if I was caught. Those should be precautions enough.

“As you say.” He said with a nod of his own before splitting off. I took that as a warning to split off myself. And I also knew that I had to get rid of the nexu symbols on me for now. It would not do for the small declarations of loyalty to be found out and compromise my people.

…

I found Captain Rex on the back of one of the gliding lizards the guards used as mounts. And he had bad news. Obi-Wan and he had found the Governor of the peoples we were looking for, and then got captured by them. Because of course that had to have happened.

And I had nothing as well. So we went to where we thought we would be needed. In the arena place where they were going to action off the slaves, and if we were lucky, my Master. I was kind of wishing that R2 did not have my lightsaber at the moment, even if I knew the reasons that it could not be on my person. The same reason was why the dagger was back in my quarters on the Negotiator as well. 

We were lucky. In the worst way imaginable. Master Obi-Wan looked terrible. The Queen of the bat/wolf peoples gave a speech. And Anakin was given a whip and told to hurt him more. I don’t know which was worse, but it all just summed up the mission. It had gone to osik and there was nothing I could do about it.

Skywalker gave the signal, and I jumped into the arena, standing by my master as my cloak was left behind in the stands. My blue saber ignited as I stood and waited for the battle. But it was for nothing.

I was the third to go down. The Queen of the Zygerrian empire disabled Ahsoka first with her shock collar, then Rex fell into the pit and was taken by the electrified whips. Then one of those whips wrapped around my ankle and pulled me off of my feet, and I couldn’t help the cry that I released as it did because it hurt. The next went around my neck and another around my wrist. I was out in moments.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there is the chapter!  
> I hope you all liked it and please let me know your thoughts!


	38. How I Refused to Let Them Have Power Over Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Captured by the Zygerrians, things are not looking well as they find out just what is happening to the colonists.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Violence! Lots of Violence! These people are slavers and BAD things happen in this chapter.  
> But moving on, here is the nest chapter!  
> With a little bit of an inside on what Rex thinks about all of this.

We were collared and loaded into a ship that then took us to a moon that was close by. Once there we were off loaded to stand on the platform and came face to face with the Torgruta people standing in rows looking dirty and downtrodden. Their heads were lowered and shoulders slumped. Fear leeched off of them and I swear that I could feel it even if I was not really that close to them.

It made my heart ache to see anyone like that. Behind them, on a hover chair raised above everyone else was a fat Zygerrian with blue tinged fur. He looked more jovial than cruel, but everything about him set my teeth on edge.

“General Kenobi. You are the first Jedi I have entertained at our educational center.” He said in the accented voice that all of the wolf/bat people seemed to possess. “Few possess a Jedi’s resolve. And it is strength of will that is my greatest enemy.”

He then pushed a button on the chair and I couldn’t stifle my gasp as it dropped a row of eight Togruta colonists down to the depths that I couldn’t see. He killed them. There had been no reason for that, and I could feel the fear and grief in the air. My throat went completely dry.

“Now that I have your attention, Jedi,” He said as if he hadn’t already had it before he proved that he held no value in life, “be aware that it will not be you who suffers should you defy me.” With that done he turned his chair around and glided back through the door.

There was no choice but to follow our captors' prods towards the camp without raising argument. I saw that Master Obi-Wan had his shoulders slumped in what looked like defeat. Captain Rex was at our side, and he didn’t look much better. His jaw and fists were clenched in an obvious show of anger.

Me, I couldn’t stop my face from going blank as steel hardened in my spine and a spark filled my eye. I may have to listen now, but this would not break me. I was a Queen. I had people who counted on me. If I could not survive this, if I could not endure and come back, then I didn’t deserve their devotion or their trust. So I would persevere. And the first chance I got, I would help these people.

They brought us into the mine, if it could be called a mine. It was burning coal that we were walking through. Burning coal being sent to be burned off. There was no productivity in this place, there was only masters and slaves and work done for nothing. And I saw what they were doing. They were trying to break us, and this, this might be the perfect way to break a Jedi.

Even an imagined slight and the person next to you was punished. You said something, the person was punished, they felt you weren’t working hard enough, someone else was punished. They didn’t like you, you and the person next to you were punished. It was a never-ending cycle that I could see was meant to destroy will and deconstruct a person.

These people, the Togruta colonists, were artists who had never worked in such harsh conditions. Now they were learning that they could not talk to the others around them. The only way they would live is if they and the others around them did the work without complaint until they couldn’t move any more. It was wrong. And as a Jedi who just wanted to help, it was torture to watch and be able to do nothing because any sign of you trying to help and the one you are trying to help gets hurt worse.

This was a place without light or kindness or even life. I guess it was the perfect representation of the Zygerrians in that respect.

I found all of that out literally five minutes into working. Five minutes in which my shock collar trigger had changed hands and they pushed grime covered shovels into our bound hands and told us to work. Long enough to feel the Force crying out in despair.

I was shoved away from Master Obi-Wan and Captain Rex. I was shoved with a few of the other woman from the colony and set on pushing the carts filled to overflow through the tracks without stop. I said nothing as I pushed and did what I could, careful not to show anything on my face. Careful not to do anything that would call attention to me.

Unfortunately, in this red tinged hot box of despair, they were looking for a reason to make me suffer. The girl next to me, she was a beautiful Togruta with yellow skin, sweeping white markings, and very long leku to match her tall montrals. She couldn’t be older than eighteen. And she clearly had not been getting enough food.

She fell, exhausted as she couldn’t push any longer. I wanted to reach out and help, but I knew that wouldn’t be helping her at all. Instead I slowed and hovered in an attempt to hide her from view as she tried to get to her feet. I wanted to buy her time.

Instead I felt the cut of a whip on my back followed by the electric current flowing through me, into the shock collar, and back down. I grunted and gasped, but did my best not to scream. The guard, however screeched out “Get back up, skrug!” He yelled that out, ordering me to get up, but he whipped me again. Forcing me back to the ground in pain.

The girl scrambled as best she could, and I did my best not to cry out. But it hurt. It hurt more than anything ever had before. Like my very nerves were on fire whenever the whip impacted my skin. Then they really looked at me.

“Hey, this one is one of them Firrerreos! You remember last time we had to break in one of them?” One asked in his nasally voice. And I hated him as much as I could hate anyone. It was actually quite a lot conceding that Jedi weren’t supposed to hate.

“I remember, we got his name after three weeks and broke him in days after that.” The other said as he forced me to stand by taking the electric spear and stabbing it into my shock collar as it forced me to my feet. Not that I could stay on my feet once the spear was removed.

Jeering, the Zygerrian guard asked “What is your name?” They backed off for that moment as the girl had gotten the hint and was pushing the cart as another came to help them. It left me alone with the two guards.

I said nothing, and was rewarded for it with the cracks of whips. But my name was not going to be given to them. I had given it out only to those I trusted, and that was already a very long list of people. I was not going to give it to a slaver looking for a power high. Firrerreo were known for their arrogance in a way. They really did sometimes look down on others. But it was a cultural thing, most of the time a learned thing. I would like to say that I was not that bad, but even with memories I got from Nicole and the fact that I was raised by the Jedi, sometimes I think that I was just as bad. I was privileged in some ways. It was easy to think that they had broken one of my kind in here. Most of the time it really is the use of the name that would put us in our place. Another societal thing that we couldn't help.

They demanded my name a few more time, but I did not answer. Then I was dragged before Obi-Wan and Rex and one of them demanded “You what is her name?” I was electrocuted as a warning just as they were asked.

As my Master and the Captain seemed to fumble, I let out a growl before laughing sardonically and hissing out “What makes you think they know my name? Names of my people are given to family only.” I wasn’t lying, but it was a dare.

I was once more given a shock for that. Then the smaller of the two said “Well, he was the one you call Master. Why wouldn’t your Master know your name?” It was a taunt. A well delivered one too. A lot of people didn't quite like that the Jedi took up titles like Master. But they were Master in that they had mastered the study of the Force to a degree that they were given honor through the titles of the Temples. It didn't mean that they were Master of other people as well.

I laughed in his face. “Do you even know the Jedi code? We don’t form attachments. It is looked at as a path that could lead us to the dark side. No attachments, no family feelings, no names shared. Besides, there is a chance that I am not even his padawan.” I said between gasps.

They did not like that at all. I could tell as pain ripped through me again. It was a little surprising that they were so focused on me, but I imagine they had learned from the other Firrerreo that hurting those around them didn't loosen his tongue. I didn’t know how much more I could take of this if I was honest. Then one said “We’ll get the name out of you. The last Firrerreo we had didn’t scar easily at all, why don’t we see if you aren’t the same?” His voice was deep with sadistic glee, and I couldn’t help but shiver.

“Do your worst.” I challenged, not showing any fear. It was stupid, I shouldn’t have done that, and I could hear Obi-Wan wanted to protest but knowing that he couldn’t or I would only be hurt worse. But I was not going to be cowed. They had no power over me.

They dragged me to a room with actual chains and hooked me up to the wall. Then the pain started and did not stop. I cried out, I know I did, but I would not give them an inch. In my mind I repeated to myself that they had no power over me. That I was a free woman and whatever they did to me was nothing to what some had to face.

I hardly noticed it when the pain paused. But it only happened every once in a while. And in that time the burning of the open wounds seemed to get worse on its own as it was exposed to the dusty air. I entertained the thought of spewing profanity at them, but it took too much thought, and I could barely think at that point. I couldn’t even keep track of the passing of time.

Then there was a hand on my shoulder, and I looked with fierce eyes and bared teeth to show my fangs. But both receded as I was looking at my reflection on the T of a trooper helmet. Not one of mine, not one of Skywalker’s, but a Wolfpack member. I felt myself slump in relief at seeing them and the tension and implied threat in my posture relaxed.

They got the bonds off of me before I was swept into arms, my legs too weak to hold me and my head not clear enough to argue. I ended up on my stomach on a stretcher that was put in a gun ship and flown back to what could have only been Master Plo Koon’s flag ship. But I didn’t know for sure as before we boarded, I realized I was safe and let unconsciousness take me.

…

I was in and out of consciousness for a while there. I remember breathing through a mask and opening my eyes to see that I was floating in a bacta tank. My Master was there too, sitting next to it. I wanted to reach out to him, but I knew that I couldn’t.

The next moment I was out of the tank and laying on a new stretcher. But there was a cool wetness on me still. I don’t think I was supposed to be awake, especially since my back was screaming at me in pain. But the trooper, Setter, it had to be Setter as that was his paint job, pressed a hypo to my neck that sent be back into blankness.

Finally, when I woke for the final time, it was to my Master sitting next to me on a bed. And there was a surprising but grateful lack of pain. “Water?” I asked after a few tries, by lips feeling cracked and throat dry.

It got him up in an instant and bringing a small glass of water to my lips to help me drink. Soothed, I was placed back on the pillow beneath me. “How are you feeling?” He asked as one of the troopers, I think it was Rai, took a look at the machines showing my vital signs.

“Fuzzy.” I said as I thought back. Of course, I remembered everything, but I still felt fuzzy around the edges. Then I said “I made them angry because I wouldn’t tell them my name. Wolfpack got us out.”

That earned what sounded like a whine from someone I couldn’t see, but I didn’t bother to find out who it was because I was too busy waiting for my Master to say what he clearly needed to say. He looked horrible. Like he blamed himself for what had happened.

“I am so sorry, Nemira, that you were brought into this. That the situation devolved as it did and I put you in danger.” He whispered to me so that the others couldn’t hear it. Using my name to try and sooth me and to show that he really meant it.

I found myself lifting my hand to put it on his arm where it was closest to my bed. “It’s not your fault. I chose to rush in. I chose to keep my name to myself. It was not supposed to happen like that, but it could have been so much worse. We are alive, and the Colonists that survived are free. There was nothing you could have done.” I said as soothingly as I could.

He made a sound that reminded me of a dying wale before he said “You were half fried with electrical burns all over you, whip marks down your back, and knife wounds to your stomach! I am in charge of your protection, and I failed you!” He insisted.

I felt a horse laugh run through me. “There was nothing you could have done in that moment. What’s done is done, and I don’t blame you. But if you need me to say it, I forgive you, Obi-Wan Kenobi.”

I could feel him stiffen and then sag under my hand. And then I knew that we were going to be alright.

###  Interlude: How Captain Rex Feels About All This

Rex was a pretty simple man in his own opinion. He served with his brothers and the Jedi and was good at what he did. When they got the mini Jedi along with their Jedi General, he adapted. When he got picked to go with the Jedi for Jedi missions, he worked with what he had.

He believed that the Jedi wanted to help the clones. He respected and trusted a lot of the Generals that he had met. They were good, solid people and he was honored to serve with them and have their backs.

Umbara had shaken him more than he could have ever imagined. He had worked with the Commander of the 212th before. She had been there for the Naboo Blue Shadow Virus incident and he thought he knew her character. She was a cautious if kind girl who wanted to save lives and had a strange quirk where she could see into the future and sometimes know who would live and who would die.

Bottom line was that she was someone he trusted to lead his men as she clearly believed that they were people and deserving of her respect.

When General Krell first told his general that he was taking over, there was both dread and anticipation boiling inside of Rex. He believed that the Jedi would act as the others he had met. But within minutes of meeting the man, Rex knew that he was not like the others. He was rude, dismissive, and uncaring.

He was afraid for the first time of following a General. Not because he himself was in danger, but because he was afraid his brothers would be led into danger. And then, the golden skinned girl he didn’t know the name of stood ramrod straight and told the larger man to his face that she out ranked him and that this was now her battalion to lead.

In that moment he could swear that she was glowing. She listened, she offered advice, and she let them do as they were trained to do. But more than that, she trusted them all to listen to her. There was a legitimate shrine dedicated to her in the bowels of the Resolute. One that he was careful to steer Commander Tano and General Skywalker away from.

He didn’t expect to be paired on a mission with her again so soon. And on top of that, to a world of slavers that cared nothing for anyone. Also, with all the other Jedi that they kind of considered theirs. Cody had already told him to keep his General and Commander safe, and Rex had done his best.

But he was not ready for what he saw and what had ended up happening. The depths of depravity that the people of this world had forced themselves into. The terror that hung over the captured slaves like a weight that bent their spines in submission. He had not been ready.

They were caught and separated. He wanted to save the Firrerreo Commander. He wanted to get her away from the torture that she was forced to endure at the hands of the slavers. But they only saw her briefly before they had taken her away. His priority was keeping General Kenobi alive through this ordeal as he was right next to Rex and working.

He could have kissed Wolffe and the pack when they came to the rescue with General Skywalker and General Plo Koon, even as he killed the overseer of this place. He did what his Jedi couldn’t do, he killed the unarmed man who held all the power. It made him sick to think that these people were allowed to do all of this to others.

They were taken out on stretchers. All three of them. Though he could only see Kenobi at the time. They were strapped down by the medics and looked over. But he saw when one of the Wolfpack brought out Commander Firrerreo.

She was a horrible sight. Her shirt had been torn to shreds, showing the tan wrappings she had on underneath, and it was clear that they had been hurting her more than he thought they would be. Her face was a mass of bruises, her back was covered in marks that crisscrossed over every inch, and she was even bleeding from the front. Her neck also looked half burnt from the shock collar. Rex only got a single glimpse of her hazel eyes before she passed out. But it was enough to know that she was in considerable pain. If the injuries hadn’t already pointed it out.

He heard the General as he made a noise of sympathetic pain that sounded absolutely gutted. Rex knew that he had a call to make the moment he could.

And he did. First to leave the clutches of the medics, he commed Cody, arguably the brother he was closest to, and said “It was bad, Cody. The General looks alright, but that is mostly mental. It’s the commander who got it the worse. She’s in a bacta tank now. They are hoping that there will be no scars, but they aren’t certain.”

Cody seemed to stiffen even worse at that, and there was the sound of a scuffle behind him telling Rex that a few of the others were listening in as well. Not that he cared, they would need to know it as well.

“Is she well enough to be transferred at the rendezvous to the Negotiator?” He asked in a voice stronger than steel. Rex had used that voice a lot himself over the years. It was the one that said they were being strong so that others didn’t have to be. It was the Commanding Officer voice.

He gave a shrug. “I think they will take her out just to put her in a new tank on your ship. But I wanted to warn you, it isn’t going to look good. All of us have some marks form this.”

“Thank you, Rex. I know you did your job. Make sure they get to me without further incident.” Cody said, but his gratitude could almost be felt over the transmission.

“Roger, roger!” Rex said to bring a little bit of light into this before he disconnected.

Everything turned out alright, but Rex couldn’t shake the feeling that the really bad disasters were happening faster and faster. Something else was coming, he knew it. He just hoped that he would be ready for when it came.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you go. Things are getting faster, the bad is starting to pile up, and so something is going to break soon enough.  
> Plus this is still cannon typical violence. They did the same thing to Obi-Wan when they first caught him before the others were caught out as well.  
> Please let me know what you thought!  
> Thanks for reading!


	39. How to Lose Your Master

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nemira needs a break. Unfortunately for her, that isn't happening any time soon. All this time she has been messing with what she knew the future held. And now, well, this may or may not be the price that she has to pay for meddling as she does.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!   
> This is the emotional low of the story. Just as a warning. And some guilt complex angst. Because Jedi or not, Nemira is a teenager. It was bound to come out somehow.   
> And yeah, the title is both spoiler alert and misleading.   
> I hope you like it!

This was honestly a better week than the one before it. We had been on Coruscant, recovering, for a while as Cody and the others were getting shipments and supplies sorted for what was going to be our next long campaign. But I couldn’t help but feel as if Master Obi-Wan was getting even more stressed than usual. The bags under his eyes had gained bags of their own, and I often saw him whispering with Masters Yoda and Windu in the hall ways. Though, I never did overhear what they were talking about. 

I had other things to worry about at the moment. There was a whisper running through my informant network about a terrorist plotting to kidnap the chancellor, but something about it smelled fishy. To the point that even though I wanted the man dead, I warned my people away from this particular plot as I did not think it was safe.

Moralo Eval was a sociopathic psychopath. He killed his own mother because he was bored. I did not want to know why he was rounding up bounty hunters, but there was a very large chance that this would end in death for said hunters. The only thing that I did with the information gathered on him was tell the Jedi of my suspicions. After that, I let them do as they liked. Mostly becasue they were the High Generals and I was not privy to their plans for the war. 

This particular night, I was out on the city, not for Lady Nexu stuff, but with Master Obi-Wan, Knight Skywalker and Ahsoka. We were out trying to relax for once, not ten minutes away from the Temple by speeder. It had been a relaxing night, until Master got a comm and ordered us to get going back to the temple.

“So, what’s the big rush?” Anakin asked in his long-suffering way as we went to our transport parked a bit away from the building.

“The Jedi Council has called an emergency meeting.” Master Obi-Wan explained as normally as he ever did. With his crisp accent and nothing to find in his voice or way of walking.

Skywalker sighed and slumped slightly. “I can see it now. Another long, boring debate.” He whined.

“Everything is alright though, right?” I asked softly from my place next to Master Obi-Wan. Though, I was a pace or two ahead of him and he seemed to be lagging slightly. Well, that wasn’t true really, I was just pulling ahead. But that did stop me from wondering for a moment if he too was getting run down by all the meetings as of late. All he did was give me a tired smile a short nod in reply. 

Ahsoka decided that the best way to ease the whining was to rib her Master as she asked “Would you rather they call you in to train younglings?”

Anakin let out a small chuckle before asking “Are you crazy?”

“I don’t know, it could be fun. More dangerous than a war zone with how much they know how to use their sabers.” I laughed back, turning around and walking backwards a couple of steps so that I could see his reaction.

But before any reaction could be had, we all felt the jolt in the Force and scattered as I saw a red beam come down from the roof of one of the nearby buildings and go just over my Master’s shoulder. In a flash all four of us had taken cover and our lightsabers were in our hands ready to be used but still dormant.

“Any idea where that shot came from?” Master as the corner of the crate we were hiding behind got scorched from a blast.

“They were on the roof of the building to the left!” I answered promptly. 

Ahsoka then said “A sniper. I see him up there.” She pointed to where I knew the blasts were coming from. Even as they continued to rain down towards us uselessly.

“Alright, here’s the plan!” Master said quickly. “Anakin, you flank him on the right. Padawan, Ahsoka, you both cover the lower streets on either side. I’m going after him.” He rattled off the orders, and like countless time before, we all agreed in that moment without thought.

All of our sabers ignited almost in unison, and we were running off as directed. I sprinted as I had more ground to cover, going to the opposite side of the left building as Ahsoka took the middle and the two men leaped to climb the buildings. I lost sight of them, but I let the Force guide me as I ran to make sure he didn’t escape beyond the building to go to the ground level.

I had just rounded a third corner when I heard the crash and raced towards it even as I heard Anakin yell my Master’s name. I was there a minute later to watch as Ahsoka pulled the limp form of my master from crates that he must had fallen on top of from the roof. On instinct, I ran to help her, pushing the boxes away and looking for what might be wrong.

I was not expecting to find him dead. Because Obi-Wan Kenobi couldn’t be dead. He had to be alive. He had to be around to take Luke to Tatooine and he had to go to Utapu and kill Grievous. He couldn’t be dead now. This wasn’t supposed to happen.

But he was limp in Ahsoka’s arms and there was the burn hole of where the bolt had hit him right above the heart. He wasn't breathing. I couldn’t bring him back from that. There was nothing I could do as I knelt there hovering over him as Ahsoka just held him. We were both in shock.

I reached over and put my two fingers on his pulse point and I listened, trying to find anything. It was stupid. I had never been able to find the pulse in anyone, let alone someone I thought might be dead. But I thought that I might find something. His throat didn’t even move. No breathing, no pulse that I could feel… nothing.

Obi-Wan Kenobi was dead. But he couldn’t have been. I knew that he couldn’t have been. The only change had been… me.

I pulled away, hands shaking and eyes filling with tears. A horrible thought crossed my mind and it stayed there. Did my existence kill Obi-Wan Kenobi?

In that moment I couldn’t help but look to the Force for guidance, but for some reason the visions that I was being given still had him in them. But that was impossible. His body was right there, and he wasn’t breathing, and there was a hole in his heart, and I didn’t understand.

I didn’t move as planet security came. I didn’t move as Anakin had his own breakdown. I didn’t even move as they took the body away to get it to the temple. I was just numb. Vaguely, I remembered being forced up by strong hands, and looking over to see a clone from the Coruscant Guard. I think it was Fox, the often cantankerous clone that Cody had some fondness for.

I let him guide me, and he didn’t take me to the temple, but to the barracks where he handed me off to Cody and said a few words I didn’t bother with hearing.

All I knew was that I was brought to the rec area they had cobbled together and then somehow I was in the middle of a clone pile. I had seen them pile up after long and hard battles. It was a way of saying that they were there for each other, and that it was going to be alright. It was actually an honor to be included into this even as I wasn’t thinking like that at the time.

I didn’t say anything, and they didn’t make me say anything. But about an hour later they put me in a cloak and they walked me to the temple. I had to stand there as they put Obi-Wan into the crypts. I watched as the body descended, and it just felt so wrong.

This wasn’t how this was supposed to happen.

…

The boys were waiting for me when the funeral ended. To the point that Setter and Wooley had been outside of the temple ready for me and each slung and arm over me, one on my shoulder and one on my waist, to escort me back to the others. I don’t even know how they knew I was coming back to them, but I was glad they did. I just couldn’t be inside of the Temple right now. I couldn’t be around the reminders when I was alone.

We weren’t completely sure what we were supposed to do, the clones and I. Who was supposed to lead now? Obi-Wan had been our rock. Someone that none of us thought we would lose. Would they be assigned a new general? Was I going to be assigned a new Master? Was I going to stay with the 212th?

Questions ran through me, but all I did at that moment was close my eyes and let the warmth of the bodies around me lull me into an uneasy sleep.

As I mourned, I drifted through the ship. No one had tried to contact me, and no one had thought to tell Cody what was going to happen either. It was like we were in limbo and no one wanted to even think about what was going to happen now that Obi-Wan wasn’t here. To the point that I think they were being negligent.

I was a padawan in her early teens. I should have been contacted and taken to grief counseling at the very least. Someone should have been checking in with me. Now, there was no mystical bond between Master and Padawan as some people theorized, it wasn’t like there was something broken in my psyche. But I had just lost what amounted to a father in Jedi terms, and someone should have been around. Someone more than the clones. 

Not that I didn't appreciate their support and the comfort that they offered me. They too were like family at this point. But they were grieving the loss as well and it wasn't their responsibility to keep me floating. That fell on the shoulders of the Order who I was a ward of.

It was only about a week later that I learned why I had been so grievously neglected and just left in the care of the 212th.

Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi had faked his own death to go undercover and unravel a Separatist plot to kill or kidnap the Chancellor. And he never told us. I had been following the case. I knew that Skywalker had been chasing down his murderer like a rabid dog after he had escaped from jail. And in none of that time did it behoove anyone to tell us what the kriff was going on!

Then he walked back onto the Negotiator with his customary smarmy smirk and Master Windu at his side. As if nothing had happened, he just walked in victorious from his mission. But I was still hurting inside.

There he was standing in front of me. I had spent a week mourning him with the men of the 212th and now he was here and alive and with that stupid smile on his face. And suddenly anger coursed through me before I could stop it. 

And so, as he got closer, I couldn't help but approach him. But I didn't hug him, I didn't even say anything yet, I couldn't. Instead when I was close enough my hand reared back and I punched him in the face.

There was a slight snapping sound as cartilage gave way and he gasped as he reached up and grabbed his nose. It was clear that no one expected it as every soldier backed up a step and even Mace Windu was looking surprised. It might have been comedic if it had been a different time.

But I wasn't in the right frame of mind to care at that moment. "How dare you?" I growled, and it was a true Firrerreo growl, animalistic in nature. My canines were showing and everything. 

"I might have deserved that," Master Kenobi said as he looked at his hand now covered in blood from his broken nose. Good news was that it didn't look crooked or anything and it would probably heal without so much as a bump. But it was bleeding pretty badly.

"Might have? You kriffing bastard! I thought you died in Ahsoka’s arms! You were dead and the Force was screaming at me that it wasn't your time but nothing I did could fix it! And then we buried you and it still yelled at me that you weren't dead even as I was looking at your body! And it wouldn't shut up and I thought it was my fault! And you were fine this entire time?" At this point I was yelling as tears streamed down my face. 

I felt hands on my shoulders then and slowly I was turned until I was facing painted armor. It was Waxer. And, as I let out a sob that I hadn't released before this, Boil boxed me in and started to lead me away, shuffling awkwardly with the position we were in. I didn't know that they both looked up and glared at my master and Master Windu. And I didn't see how uncomfortable the kouran master was or the stricken look that Kenobi had.

Finally, relief rushed through me as I was taken back to the rec room. I had no doubt that we were going to end up in the middle of a clone pile again. I needed it though. Anything to take my mind of the strange swirling of relief and anger and sadness and happiness that was warring inside of me.

I did hear Cody say to Obi-Wan "She's been with us since it happened. When she first came, she wasn't responding to anything. I'm pretty sure Setter had to sedate her to try and keep her from going too deep into shock." 

That was the end as they bundled me up between warm armor covered bodies and silently promised to protect me. Even from my Master, their General. 

…

It was a while later that Obi-Wan dared to approach me again. I had cooled off. I understood that things had to happen in secrecy and sacrifices had to be made sometimes in war. But that did not mean that I liked it.

“I am sorry.” He said simply as he sat next to me. I had commandeered the couch and with the men getting back on rotation, there was only Cody, Setter, and a few others milling around. Enough so that I knew this conversation was going to be around the troops in a matter of hours once it was done.

“You know. I never see myself in any of my visions.” I said quietly. Leadingly. It was the truth. Besides the very first vision I had, nothing about them had ever been about me. I looked at him as he looked at me and dipped his head in a cue to continue.

“There is so much death in my visions. I see it all the time. I’ve seen the death of a thousand million people. I know where they will die, when they will die. I know their last words, and I know how they will die. But above that, I know all of those factors are changeable, because that is a future that does not include me. It is a future where I have done nothing. And so, every action I take, changes it. As my Great-Great-Grandmaster says; always in motion, the future is.” I said.

I could see that he still didn’t quite get it yet, not that I expected him to. So Instead I added “I know your last words. ‘If you strike me down, I will become even more powerful than you can possibly imagine.’ You say those words when your hair is white from age and stress and your face is lined in wrinkles and laugh lines. Over twenty years into the future and long after the Clone Wars are finished.”

He swallowed harshly at that, his eyes widening, and everything else in the room seemed to go so very still and silent. This was not what they expecting for me to lead with, and I didn’t blame them. Talking about my visions was something I was never so detailed about.

“I know that I have saved lives. I know there are lives that I cannot save. But what I don’t know yet is how many lives have been lost because of me. How many people I have condemned. I know that I can change things, because I have in the past. On Geonosis only you and one other got out of the gun ship and got to the landing zone. Not the five of us. Echo would have fallen at the Citadel, his barely alive body brought to the techno union and hooked up to machines so they could scramble his brains in order to figure out how to best derail all of our battle strategies. Waxer would have died on Umbara, a victim of friendly fire because Krell sought to ruin the men of the 501st and any others he could with them. If I had not gone to Toydaria, the King there would be dead.” I said clearly.

As an aside I scrunched up my face and turned to Cody as I said “By the way, someone needs to tell a medic in the 501st that the trooper named Tup needs a brain scan and surgery now or it will be too late to save him.” I don’t know where it came from, but it had needed to be said.

Then I looked down as I refocused on my master and admitted “But this time, I thought this was going to be the price of my meddling. I thought that it was because of me that you died when my visions clearly see you in this galaxy for years and years to come.”

“No, no, Nemira, if I had died, it would have never been your fault.” Master Obi-Wan said hoarsely as he processed what I had been telling him. There was a look of dawning horror on his face as he got a glimpse into my mind and how I saw things. Of how I sometimes thought myself into circles. How I played at God at times. 

I gave him a tight smile. “Maybe someday I will believe it. Maybe when this is all over, and that death is no longer yours. But there are still changes that I will make, and I hope the future that is so changing, will be so much brighter than the one I have been seeing.”

It was not the end of the conversation. Not by a long shot. But that was me starting to forgive him and asking for his forgiveness. Things would be repaired. We would all move on from this. Not quite yet, but soon enough we would be forgiving each other completely.

Unknown to him, I also sent a message to my bounty hunter. It was a quick ‘Perhaps strike while the iron is still hot.’ Because I needed this war over soon. As soon as possible. I needed to act, before things escalated to point of no return. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And done!   
> I had the middle of this chapter written (up to where she punched Obi-Wan in the face) since around the time that I was finishing writing the fourth chapter of this story. And most of it didn't need changing by the time I integrated it into the story.   
> I then wrote a bit of the Umbara Arc, but I scrapped all of my pre-written stuff for that particular arc after I realized that it was like, no. Too out of character for how much Nemira's character had progressed.   
> This chapter might have been a little confusing. But Nemira wasn't exactly coherent during most of this chapter. The shock was getting to her.   
> Please let me know what you thought!


	40. How to Destroy Your Enemies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With plans coming together, something was bound to go flying off the rails.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this chapter is a but screwy. It kind of got away from me a bit.   
> But I still like it.

Alright, sneaking past the poor 212th vod on padawan duty was getting to be a little too easy. I winced slightly as I did so, but I wanted to check on somethings that I knew they would not approve of. Like, well, how the assassination of the chancellor was going. That was still treason and I was not about to test out how loyal they were to us Jedi compared to the Chancellor. 

I also knew that I needed a change of scenery. Mostly as I was using that one bar a little too much recently. So I was in the mid levels and not the lower level at the moment. It still had enough underground stuff going on that it would suit my needs, but it was also a place that was harder to be found in by said underground.

I had only just passed by a group of strange people when the Force screamed at me in warning. Like, the warning sirens blared and everything!

Twisting on a dime, I was not quite ready to see that there were a group of fighters that were clearly associated with the Pykes. And when I say associated, I mean these were spice addict thug level bounty hunters. And I had left my lightsaber back at the temple. This couldn’t have been any worse on the timing. Had I really gotten that complacent?

There were three of them. They eyed me before shifting to surround me. Each had a weapon, but nothing truly worrying to someone who had an ally in the Force. The first lunged at me with a vibroblade, and I was quick to fall back into martial arts as I deflected his arm, spun him around using his arm as a lever, and pushed him into the oncoming second person who was getting out his blaster. They crashed into each other just as the last man threw a grenade at me.

A modified grenade that was clearly built to make a bigger explosion with lots of shrapnel. It came flying at me, beeping cheerfully in a count down for destruction, and I was quick to jump and roll on instinct. It went sailing off the side of the walk way and right into oncoming traffic, exploding and sending out a shock wave.

For a split second I allowed myself to feel horrible about that, but this was no time to be distracted as I quickly was back to fighting the three. With an application of Force assisted levers and punches, the three were out of commission, and I was heading back towards the temple post haste. I was also doing my best not to be seen fleeing the crime scene. People had probably died in that explosion, and I was already feeling really bad about it. I should have directed it to a place where it wouldn't have hurt anyone. I should have used the Force instead of just dodging. 

But something had changed as well. Though I couldn’t put my finger on it. It was like the shadows shortened in the mid-afternoon light. As if they weren’t quite so dark and consuming. And the Force seemed to sing out louder than usual in light. Perhaps something else happened too. Besides me getting into trouble. Or the shock of the adrenaline was sharpening my view of the world at the moment. 

I didn't focus on that as I made my way home. Maybe there was a good reason to let the clones follow me when I left the temple. I took the time to sneak back into the temple before I walked back out and snagged Cody to follow me down. This time I was not going to figure out if my plans were working, but I still would need to make an appearance. Especially if that attack had been more than just random. Like, if there had been a hit out on me or something. Not to mention I needed a bit of normal at the moment. Going to my regular place was something of a comfort to me. 

Fifteen minutes later I was in a bar playing sabacc with Cody and some of the others of my people when the news hit the Holonet and exploded outwards. I had gotten my reaction to what had happened under control so that no one knew what had happened. There was an explosion, but honestly that was not entirely uncommon. It happened sometimes when a speeder was malfunctioning or something else was going on. It would be investigated, but it shouldn't be linked back to me. I was actually laughing as the good Commander traded barbs with a near-human female at the table when a boy ran into the bar and to the barkeep. That grabbed everyone’s attention.

“Turn on the news! There’s been an announcement!” The boy all but yelled.

There might have been a chastisement or two for being rude, but the man did as instructed, and put on the holo he had tucked away in the corner that only really came out when big announcements were being made. The image of a human news woman came on in the glowing blue glory. And though she was professionally well put together, there was an anxiousness to her that was clear for all to see.

“We just got word of the deaths of Chancellor Sheev Palpatine along with Vice Chancellor Mass Amedda and Senior Administrative Aid Sly Moore. Rumor says that their speeder was rigged with a bomb that went off on their way to the Senate Dome, but no confirmations have been given. The Senate has entered an emergency meeting to elect a new Chancellor and to launch an investigation into the deaths.” She announced in reporter fashion.

My mouth went dry as a few things suddenly made more sense to me. I had just killed the Chancellor on accident by throwing a bomb meant for me at him without meaning to. Triumph surged within me alongside horror that I tried to hide. I kept it hidden to a single tremor running through my hands. This was, this was fantastic. And it explained changes in the flow of the Force. As the clouds were starting to clear after a long and horrible storm. Sidious was dead. And that was amazing.

But I did not show my feelings as Cody sucked in a breath and everyone froze. Instead, I got up and folded the cards in my hand, saying softly “I think we all have places we need to be.”

A round of confirmations, and we were running here and there. There was literal chaos in the streets. People not knowing what to do. When Luke and Vader killed the Emperor there had been celebrations across the Galaxy. Now, well, no one truly liked Palpatine, but no one wanted him dead either. So instead people were uneasy.

They wanted to know if it was a Separatist Attack, or if someone from a rival faction in Senate wanted to kill the man. They wanted to know if they should be afraid.

Commander Cody and I didn’t speak a word as I was returned to the Temple and he went to find if he could help with anything on his side of things. Elections within the Senate could take upwards of weeks if they weren’t careful, and we probably would be needed to be in certain places to keep the peace in a time like this.

All Jedi who were not in the middle of a fight were being recalled as all troops were also being called to stand guard and ready to protect for what might be the next attack from the Separatists. There were other things that Jedi needed to be investigating as well.

This was why, not even a day of being idle in the Temple, and I was surprised to be called to the Council for a mission.

Carefully, I walked into the council chambers and saw all of them there, either in person or through the blue holograms. They all also were looking very serious. Like, stone faces all around and for a moment I was almost afraid that they knew I was involved in the death of Palpatine. Seriously, there was a small what if tingling inside of my brain.

“We have a mission we would send you on along with Master Adi Gallia.” Master Windu said sternly, and all thoughts vacated my mind. Though the trill of relief that rushed through me was not as easily hidden. From the grimace that Master Obi-Wan gave, I think he thought that I was still somewhat angry at him.

Instead of him continuing, the Tholothian Jedi stood as she made her way to my side with a small smile on her face. “We are to be going to Dathomir to see what the disturbance a few months ago that we felt through the Force was. Normally we would not, but we think that perhaps the disturbance and the death of the Chancellor might be connected. In any event, we will be visiting the Night Sisters.” She said kindly. Her voice was deeper than one might think it would be, but it also had a soothing edge to it. It was interesting considering that she spent a lot of time with politicians.

I nodded my head. “Alright. When are we leaving?” I asked as I turned my eyes to the councilors.

“In five minutes.” Master Windu answered. At those words of dismissal, we both bowed and left the chambers. Only to split to get our things before meeting up at the hangers.

“We are not going to be escorted by the clones when we get to the planet, but we will have a few in the ship orbiting just in case. A mixed bag of troopers as I understand it. A couple from the 212th and the other ten from the Coruscant Guard.” Master Gallia said as we got into the Jedi four seater like the one I was in when Skywalker crash landed on Felusia.

“Alright.” I answered as we got the ship up. There was a frigate waiting to escort us. The frigate had no place to dock, or to do much of anything, so I was a bit confused on why it was coming, but I suppose that they could quickly pick us up or send messages back to the others if something happened to us down there or our ship was tampered with.

Contacting them, I saw Thire answer. “Waiting to jump on your signal, sir!” He said crisply.

“Then let us make the Jump.” The Tholothian said.

With the jump plotted, it was just me and her as the starts blurred into hyperspace lines and we rushed forward. And the Force I suppose. But the Force was making little waves warning me that there was an incoming conversation. Probably full of Jedi things.

“I understand that you are upset with the deception your Master pulled on you and the others.” She said almost conversely.

My eyes closed for a moment before I opened them again. “There is a lot about that situation that still bothers me, but I do forgive him. I understand that it was deemed a necessary tactic for the mission. But I was left alone for days with only the help from the 212th troopers who were around me. No one was telling me anything, and I did not know what was going to happen to me or the battalion I had been responsible for.”

The Jedi Master sighed lightly. “Yes, we could have handled that better, I will admit that. I apologize for the pain that caused you and I commend you for your mature and understanding view on the situation. You acted admirably.” She said.

I couldn’t stop my lips from pursing slightly. That had not been what I wanted to hear. But I guess it was what I should have expected. Instead I said “We are making a lot of bad decisions lately, and it seems that the really bad events are piling up closer and closer together. I had only just started recovering from Umbara when we were sent to the heart of the new Zygerrian Slaver Empire to be beaten down however they could deal us a blow. And right when I am given a break and healed fully, I thought I lost my Master ten minutes away from our own Temple. We can only handle so much. When this is over, will we even be able to live with ourselves anymore?”

She didn’t answer me. I didn’t really expect and answer, but part of me had wanted one.

…

Dathomir was an interesting planet. It was red from space, and as we flew down, the surface was red as well. Red plants, red ground, and a curling red mist wafting through. More than that though, I took one look at the planet, and I knew.

“The Night Sisters are all dead.” I announced softly. Almost echoing that, we looked out the window and saw the fallen forms of the dark side users. It looked like a massacre. Death flooding through everything. But the strangest part was that there were the dead Sisters who looked to have died years before this as well as the somewhat fresh bodies that were scattered about.

“We must see if there are any left.” Master Gallia said just as softly as she looked over the carnage with a level of detachment that I think we had all been forced to learn over the course of this war.

Parking the ship, we got out with a quick update to the clones in the frigate above and started to track the destruction. It led to the large temple like home. We entered carefully, both of us fingering our lightsabers. There were strange green glowing waters and the feeling that something was wrong.

Then I bumped into a table and reached out to stabilize a statue on it that was tipping. It was the wrong decision as the moment I touched it a gasp was pulled from my lips and something settled over my mind. Like a bucket of ice-cold slime being dropped through me and focusing on my brain.

“Ah, a girl with a strong connection to the Unifying Force.” A voice not my own came from my mouth and echoed deeply within the Force of the planet as I remembered the three beings on Mortis doing. “Unfortunate that it is not the Living Force that she connects to so. But I will have enough time for what I must do.” It continued.

“Who are you?” Master Gallia asked somewhat harshly as she clutched her lightsaber in a ready position but didn’t ignite it yet. I could tell that she did not want to cause me harm but did not like the fact that something dark had possessed me. And inside of my own mind, I tried to fight the slick presence within me.

“In life, I was called Mother Talzin.” The being spoke through me once more. With each word a green mist seemed to seep out of my mouth and left a sickly sweet taste on my tongue. 

Adjusting her stance, Master Gallia asked “And what do you want from the Padawan?”

A cackling laugh escaped me as my head was pushed back and there seemed to be an echoing of the pounding of drums all around. “To finish my business. Dooku has escaped my grasp once, but here, it is not too late to finish the deed just yet.” It said.

“You will let the Padawan go?” The Jedi demanded. Though it was a question as well. She wanted reassurances that I would be fine. Or, I think that was what she wanted. Shoot, I wanted to know if I would be fine.

The being didn’t answer. Instead I felt as if she was using my body to sweep forward into a new area. An area that had yellow smoke billowing out of a bathtub like cauldron of all things. And it was bubbling ominously. This stank of black magic, a foul thing that they twisted into form from the Force.

Chanting began to leave my mouth as I stooped down to pick up a wax effigy I hadn’t noticed. It, well, it looked a lot like Count Dooku if I were honest. A wave of my hand and the fire under the cauldron started again and the chanting echoed around me. It was as it there were more than one person chanting with me.

“What are you doing?” Master asked, alarmed as she finally lighted her blue saber. But the being within me ignored her and hovered the effigy over the liquid. And when the chanting came to its apex, she dropped it. The wax was set on unnatural fire and Mother Talzin laughed.

“Well, that was quite the show!” A male voice sounded from behind me, in a way that should not have been. I jumped, the being within me jolted, and Master Gallia also jerked. None of us had been aware of another being in here with us among the dead. But that voice, I recognized it.

“What do we have here.” Mother Talzin said through me as she swept to the side to pace between the voice and the Jedi. From the shadows a tall man stepped and his glowing embers of eyes gazed into my own. There was weight to go with the stare, as if he could see all the way inside and into me.

Coupled with the red markings and I knew that this was The Son. But what he was doing here I had no idea. He smiled in a way that was not nice and said “You will let her go. The Watcher is not a suitable host for one such as you.”

Mother Talzin tsked at him before saying “I am keeping this body, and when I have absorbed enough of the Living Force, I will be alive once more. A man like you would not be able to stop me.” The sneer she added was not one that belonged on my face. It was too subtle and didn’t highlight my particular facial features. Or my rather wicked looking fangs.

“Hm, I don’t think you could last that long. The moment she drops her shields, you will be destroyed by the visions that come.” He replied as he looked to his finger nails disinterestedly. At this point Master Gallia was forgotten as the two dark Force users started to circle around each other.

But he had been talking to me when he said that. He wanted me to open myself up to the Force again. Because that would get this thing out of me. I hadn’t thought of it like that. But it was worth a try. Steeling myself, I dropped my shields.

A scream tore from my throat, but it wasn’t mine. I wasn’t screaming. In fact, as the being within me screamed I was surpassing laughter. Because this being within me had killed Count Dooku. No Dooku, no Sidious, and in a week Master Fisto was going to find Grievous and kill him with the help of Master Obi-Wan and the rest of the 212th. The war was going to be over. Hope was surging through the galaxy as light and life thrived. And it was beautiful.

The screaming finally stopped and I gasped as I was once more in control over my own body, shields firmly in place once more. “Thank you.” I said to the Son, smiling as I was free again.

He scoffed as he moved past Master Gallia and started to go outside. “No one gets to possess the most interesting mortal I have met thus far. That would make this excursion…boring.” He said with a wave of his hand.

I tilted my head. Master Gallia was trying to ask him who he was, but he was not responding to her, completely ignoring her actually, even with the lightsaber in hand. Instead I asked, with the helpful side effect of cluing the council woman in on how I knew him “How did you get off of Mortis? I thought you were stuck there.”

“I decided that it was time to leave. It was not difficult.” He answered haughtily.

I would have said more, but that was the moment that The Daughter came in with her hands on her hips as she called out “Brother, what are you doing? We were not meant to leave!” Her scolding was interrupted when The Father of all people came in as well.

“It is time we returned home.” He said simply.

But the Son was not having it as he literally hissed at his father and transformed into the winged demon to fly away, the two transforming to chase him down.

It had to have been the strangest thing to have ever happened to me, or that I had ever seen. When did my life turn into a drama?

“Tell me everything you know about what just happened.” Master Gallia ordered as she crossed her arms and looked at me impatiently. I giggled nervously. This was going to take a while. At least the lightsaber had been put away. 

I wondered if my Master ever got to explaining just how weird I was to the rest of the council. Because not only did this particular Jedi seem out of her depth, but I knew that I was really strange. And only Masters Kenobi, Yoda, and Fisto knew about how in depth my visions were. Explaining all of this took a lot longer than I thought it would.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, confession time. I was going to kill Palps off screen and without knowing exactly what happened. But then I remembered my title and was like, no I need more accidental galaxy saving at the moment. And so this was what happened.   
> Secondly, I always was bugged that they left the voodoo doll of Dooku there with the potion after they killed off the night sisters. I mean, Mother Talzin was able to interact with the world still and I could never figure out why she didn't just finish it later.... I guess it was becasue they needed to stick to cannon and let Anakin kill him when he did. But bleh.   
> Also, I left the Ones alone, so I wanted to bring them back. What can I say, I liked them. And it sucked that it happened and then we never heard about them again until rebels, and even then it wasn't much.   
> I hope you all liked it! Please let me know your thoughts!


	41. How to Leave the Jedi Without Hurting Anyone’s Feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time. Nemira can help so much as a Jedi, but she could do even more away from them. This is her choice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A very spoiler title. Oops. Then again, they all kind of were. I hope you like it anyway!

The war ended a week later. Bail Organa ushered a new push for peace and negotiation as the Chancellor of the republic and Mon Mothma was by his side as Vice Chancellor. Taking over for the one Umbaran who had stayed as an adviser was a Selonian.

It was an interesting choice, but good for this government. It was also a statement. Selonians were a humanoid weasel or otter like race who despised lies in any form. To the point where to lie was just about as bad as committing murder. And it was the only person who had not been a part of the senate group that both Organa and Mothma had been a part of. It was a showing that lies and bias would not be tolerated anymore. 

Jedi were thrilled to be turning back to their roots. They went with a squad of troopers and not a battalion as they negotiated peace with former Separatists. Not everyone rejoined the Republic, but the fighting was stopping. All of the big players from the separatist side were dead, and the banking clans were always going to claim neutrality along with the Trade Federation. They were all about the profit after all. There was still some animosity between the two parties and at times a skirmish would break out, but it was quickly figured out in the end. 

Everyone was moving forward as best they could and there was a literal feeling of joy in the air where ever you went when people realized that the conflict was stopping. That it was real, and changes were being made to make life better. Taxes were reduced, relief efforts came back and the Force felt so much lighter than it had in a long, long time.

Count Dooku and General Grievous were both dead, and that took away the glue of the armies. Battle Droids stopped being made and deployed. People stopped looking for conflict. The other Generals of the Droid Army were without leadership or direction. Not to mention funding was now gone as well. 

The war was ending, the troops were being recalled, and finally clone rights were starting to be considered. They were starting to nudge the motion that they were a people, even if the senate was being particularly slow about it.

And I knew that it was time. It was time that I could not stall any longer. But as a part of me was hurting that this had to be how it would be, the majority of me knew that this was the correct road to take. I need to do this.

My first stop was at the barracks with the men of the 212th. I wasn’t going to tell them everything, but I needed to warn them. This was not betrayal or a faked death, but they still needed to know that I was going to do something that they would not like. I came with a sad smile on my face and asked for Commander Cody. He was there in a matter of moments.

“You asked for me, Commander?” He asked, still sticking to military protocol in greetings. But he was looking as if I was about to hand him a live grenade or something. I wondered how honed his instincts were that he knew I was going to drop a bomb. Also, all of the Jedi had been trying to get the clones to call us all by our names now that the war was over. We were no longer going to be Generals soon enough.

I swallowed past my tongue that felt like led in my mouth before I nervously said “I am about to do something that you may not agree with. But in order to help you and your brothers the best way that I can, I need to do this. Please, don’t judge me for it until all is said and done.”

Taken a back he leaned away for a moment before he scrutinized my face, like he started at me and I could see gears moving inside of his brain behind his eyes as he considered me. Finally, he answered “I will do as you ask. But be careful, sir. And if you need back up, just ask. I know a lot of brothers who will drop everything for you.”

I rewarded him with a small laugh and a smile. That was sweet of him. It was the best that I could have asked for. I leaned in and hugged him. It was something that I had never done, but it was about time that I did. If only to reassure myself that what I was doing was right. And to savor this before he had a chance to maybe become angry with me.

I said a few more words to him and a few other words to the other troopers I had grown close to. They all looked so worried and I knew that nothing I could say would reassure them that I was not about to do something extremely stupid. That I wasn’t actually saying goodbye. But I was. Just in case they didn’t approve of what I was doing. I could only hope it wouldn’t be for forever.

Then I went back to the Jedi Temple, steel bracing my back into a straight line, and my head held high. I had asked to speak with the council, and I knew that they would be ready for me by the time I made it to them. Secret nerves raced through me and the tingle of adrenaline running through my veins made my stomach churn uneasily.

The doors opened and I walked in. My eyes scanned around the circular room at the councilors as I stopped in the middle of the mosaic symbol on the floor. Their eyes were brighter than they had been in such a long time, the bags under their eyes slowly fading as they found sleep and stress lines eased from the new happiness they were finding. They were all there was well. Every chair occupied by the actual body of the councilor and not a holographic image of them. 

But it was clear they were expecting some form of information sharing. Usually when my network found something interesting, I would request a meeting to share if I didn’t just corner a counselor and tell them in the hallway. That was not actually what I was here for this time.

Taking a deep breath, I said “Throughout my time at this Temple and among the Jedi, I have learned so much. I have learned and gown and I see the entire Order as family. I know that I could help many people from within the Jedi Order. That said, I know that I cannot continue on the path of the Jedi. The road before me leads another way. A way that will help me help many more people that I otherwise would not have been able to help.”

I felt shock circle the room, gasps given. And my Master chocked out “What, why?”

I smiled, a sad smile that I knew showed my inner dilemma. This had not been an easy decision to make, but it was one that I knew I had to stick to. “I am not leaving because of a difference of opinion or any resentment towards the Jedi. I love the Jedi, and I know that as Jedi we do our best to help the galaxy. I am leaving because recently I have been given the opportunity to help millions upon millions of people. In the long run, my inability to be bias for them would only hurt them. I care about these people who are putting their lives in my hands, and I cannot bring myself to let them down. And to help them, I cannot be a Jedi.”

There was a clamor as voices called out, trying to question me, asking what I was talking about or why. I was a promising padawan and I had always done my duty as it was demanded of me to the best of my abilities. This probably came from nowhere to most of them. But I needed to stand by my convictions. I had known that this was the path I needed to follow. The harsh taps of Master Yoda’s grimmer stick silenced the room.

“Understand, I do not.” Master Yoda said deliberately thinking through what he was saying. “Feel strongly about this, you do. Know what you must do, do you?” He asked.

I swallowed again as I nodded. “I have known that my path would split from the Jedi ever since the campaign I was a part of on Ryloth. The Force showed me what my path was leading to, even as I denied it. It helped me to understand where I was needed. I hope that even as I leave this Order, I still embody the best of its values and that I can bring pride to the teachers I have learned from.” I answered.

I took out a pair of scissors then, I had grabbed them just for this, and I pushed back any sign of the tears that wanted to fall. Then I snipped off the Padawan braid that had been with me for the past few years. My heart clenched as I did so, but I tried not to let it show. The cutting of the braid was a huge deal. It was usually a ceremonial thing to show that I was a knight, or a shameful thing to those who had been expelled from the order. Rarely did one leave and snip the braid themselves.

Still standing tall, I walked over to Master Kenobi and took out my lightsaber. I held them out as I said “I will be leaving your tutelage earlier than expected and still with too much to learn, but I hope that I take what you did teach me and continue to thrive. Please know that it was nothing that you did, but something that I must do.”

He swallowed thickly then, taking the items I was giving him and looking into my eyes as if I could telepathically show him why I was doing this. But I could only give him one more pained smile before I left and bowed to them all. “You will see soon enough what I have meant in my words.” I said before I raised my head and walked out at a measured pace. I didn’t once look back. I even tried to make so that I couldn’t hear the ringing silence I left in my wake.

…

I wore the Lady Nexu garb as I left the Temple, not even trying to hide it under the cloak as I usually did. But I did sneak past the Clone guard on duty just in case. My heart clenched once more as I did so, knowing that I would never pass through the doors to the Temple again. This was the last I was going to ever sneak out of it.

Two streets away and Zam was waiting for me nervously as her head was on a swivel and she fingered her blaster whenever someone passed by her. I couldn’t stop the smile from widening at that. I was glad that she was there for me. I was glad I was able to ask her to be out here for me.

“Alright,” I said roughly through my mask, accidentally making her jump as I silently appeared behind her. “I’m all yours. Let’s make me the official Queen of the Cymopha System.”

I could feel it as joy burst within her. Finally, I was accepting the position that my people wanted me in. We had a lot of work to do, but I knew that with her on the case, it would be alright. She guided me to a high-profile hotel and up to a suit that had clearly been prepared for me. It was ridiculously expensive and gaudy, but in a way I actually didn’t mind it too much.

There was more than one bed, but the beds were also ridiculously big. I had been in a war, most of the time I was sleeping on a military grade cot that could barely sleep a grown man. These monstrosities were built about six times bigger than that.

So, instead I beckoned my bounty hunter to me and slept on the same bed. And if I turned away for a while and cried, well she didn’t judge me. I was glad for that. There was no judgement or words spoken, she just kind of held me. And I knew that this was not something that would be shared with anyone else.

It was stupid, I hadn’t actually lost anything. Sure, I left the Order, but they would always be a part of me, and I had no doubt that I would see all of them again. But it was something big and the comforting weight of my padawan braid, that I hadn’t even noticed, was gone.

The future was so much better than what it could be. I had saved so many lives. It was all worth it. But now, now it was not about who I could and couldn’t save in the moment. No longer was my focus on stopping a galactic disaster, it was on the people who called themselves mine. It was the outcasts who had flocked to me.

It was the moon of gambling and bets and new beginnings. Tomorrow I was going to leave Nemira the Jedi Padawan behind. Tomorrow I would become my alter ego. Lady Nexu was going to be crowed officially as Queen Nexu. She was me, and I was her.

There would be no difference between them. And I would do my best for the people who needed me now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And done. It was more a study of inner thoughts and emotions rather than a lot actually happening. Though it did explain the changes that were being brought away from Nemira.   
> Only three more chapters!  
> Please let me know what you thought!


	42. How I Reviled Queen Nexu to the Galaxy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It is time for Nemira to make her biggest move yet! This time, to speak out to the galaxy!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, here we are. I hope you all like it!

The next morning, I woke up bright and early and was taken to the Senate building. Literally, I was barely awake when I was ushered into a speeder and brought to the dome. I saw heads of clones who recognized my garb from the descriptions I knew they shared swivel to look at me in surprise, but I paid them no mind. They would figure out what was going on soon enough.

“Ah, your majesty, you are here. Good.” Garix said out loud the moment that the doors closed behind me. There were a slew of people around him, but he paid them no mind as he looked at me. “There are four hours until the session, that should be long enough to get you ready.”

I gulped, almost audibly, but then I steeled my spine once again (I was doing that a lot lately) and gave a nod. “I am in your hands.” I said simply. Because that was true and a complete understatement. Jedi had very bad fashion sense, and so it was up to him to make me presentable.

Instead of answering, I was passed to the clutches of the waiting people behind him. They were a group of handmaidens and designers that were also my people. Though, I would be lying if I did not say that the next four hours were perhaps the most hilariously terrifying hours of my life.

They dragged me into a privet room, scrubbed every inch of me as they complemented me nonstop, and then began to dress me. The first thing they did was throw black leggings and an undershirt at me, what followed that was the rest of the get up. Well, actually, my blaster was holstered to my thigh along with the dagger I stole from Mortis. It was so that they would be hidden under everything. 

Then they continued. An actual corset was shoved on me and tightened meticulously as a sort of almost hoop skirt/posterior cage was put around my hips. It was like boning flaring from my hips to hold a skirt away from me so that it would flair just right or something like that.

It was then that they attacked me with makeup. The top half of my face that was not going to be covered in the bronze voice synthesizer, that was being polished at the moment as it was a large part of my image, was pasted in white make up. It was like liquid foundation, or clown makeup, and they even covered my ears and neck with it along with whatever part of me was going to be showing.

The skirt they made for me was a ridiculously complicated piece. It was a few dozen strips of fabric either white, grey, or black that were layered on each other. Black on the inside, white on the outside. Each strip was ridiculously embroidered with bronze, red, black, white and grey thread. Just nonsense designs meant to make it look busy.

Then they had a white button-down shirt with a frilly color and long sleeves that they put on me. Over that was a dark grey corset that went over my shoulders like sleeves and then both sides met below my bust before fastening down until it overlapped the skirt just enough to hide the waist band and make it all look more cohesive. The look was finished with black gloves to cover my hands and the bronze mask to cover my lower face.

But that wasn’t all. They gave me a black cloak to hide myself until it was time for me to stand and say something. And then I truly thought they were done. I mean, this had been ridiculous, and there was nothing else they could add in my opinion.

But they proved me wrong. I walked out on supple black leather boots that were actually quite serviceable compared to everything else. Garix smiled at me before he brought out a necklace and put it on over my head so that it laid on the white shirt pretty close to my neck. It had four ruby focal pieces that looked disturbingly close to eyes.

Then a freaking wig was shoved on my head to make my hair look brown and curly before Zam stepped forward with a box and a smirk on her face as if she knew exactly how I felt about all of this.

I pleaded with her using my eyes, but she just gave me a wink and forced the box closer to me. Sighing, I opened the box and paused in shock. It was a crown. Not only that, but it was a crown made of what looked like nexu spikes. I recognized it from my vision.

My hazel eyes met her brown ones, and she just softened her smirk as one of the handmaidens picked it up and placed it on my head. It was lighter than I expected it to be, but there was a weight to it that had nothing to do with it physically. It hammered home that this was real.

Finally, with three minutes to spare, they put the cloak over me. Then, it was show time. I was a Queen, and now I looked the part as well.

…

The senate was in rare form today. It had a lot of things running back and forth, and it had a lot of good ideas and bad ideas. The clones also had their own pod as I knew they were trying to petition for rights and such today. But the senate still ran as it always did. Augments were still a plenty. But I was patient. And I was rewarded as our pod was called on.

In the pod was me, Garix, Zam, and another body guard I didn’t know the name of. He echoed the thought that covering part of the face was customary to our people. But it was strange. He had a sort of mask over one of his eyes that swooped over his nose but not his mouth. It was strange, but I simply greeted him with a smile as asked no questions, as I always seemed to do for my people.

It floated out, and then my senator said strongly “I have with me today, the Queen of the Cymopha System. She has brought with her a proposition for the brave clones of the Grand Army of the Republic.” There was a wave of murmurs as I stood. I was a tightly kept secret by my people. They loved me without me even meeting them.

My bounty hunter had made sure that they knew I was hiding until the right moment, to make the most impact and to free as many as I could before taking my rightful place before them. This was that moment, and the Force assured me that they would just be happy I was finally theirs.

I stood, and as I did the cloak dropped away from me. I knew I was young, but not nearly the youngest looking monarch to address this council. Actually, I looked like I was about sixteen with all of the makeup and crap plastered to me. The corset also made it look like I had more of a bust than I actually did. I knew for a fact that Queen Amidala had been fourteen when she first petitioned the senate to help her people. And that was actually fairly old for a Naboo Queen. 

But all of that hardly mattered. What matter was that I was about to speak in front of them all. I was going to speak as a Queen. I had been the student of the Negotiator and I had learned from him. I had been in the presence of senators and big wigs for a long time. This was the coalescence of all that I had learned.

“Members of the Republic, I know that the Cymopha System is new to this governing body, I know that we are still forming ties. But if there is one thing that we have always valued, it is freedom for everyone. We as a collective have done the GAR a great disservice, but now it is time to correct that mistake.” I said strongly, and before anyone could say anything else, I plowed forward, silencing any outbursts there might be. Just like how I took authority before, I acted and spoke as if it was owed to me, and that made everyone listen.

“There is a saying among my people. May Fortune Favor the Loyal. I don’t think that anyone can argue that the clone troopers of the GAR are some of the most loyal individuals I have ever come across. To reward their valiant efforts in this war not of their making, I offer them a Moon within my system. It is a moon with fertile soil, breathable air, and no other sentient inhabitants. More than that, I give this moon to them for them to govern as their own sovereign and equal people within the Cymopha System.” I called out over the gathered peoples. And I could feel that shock that was rippling through the pods all around us.

This was checking off all the things they would need to give them rights. For them to be given a home planet to govern themselves and for an existing recognized people to publicly and politically recognize them as equal, the System Laws come into effect and automatically give them Republic Citizenship. It was a loop hole I was happy to use.

It was the same one that the Pantorans had used with the Talz. In that moment, they had been given complete citizenship and rights. If they accepted my offer, which was up to them, this would be the same case. And I had a feeling that they knew it as well. If this offer was taken, I had cut through what could have been years of debate and argument.

With my speech done, I looked at their pod. It was Cody, Fox, Rex, Gree, Bly, and Ponds. The top commanders. It made me smile to see them looking shocked. And I knew that Cody recognized me. His eyes were boring into my own with fierce recognition and gratefulness.

“You just want your own privet army!” I heard one of the other senators yell out.

I scoffed loudly at that before I countered “As a sovereign people, the clones would have the right to do as they wish. If we come to a treaty that has to do with military might, it is not the concern of this body. Though they would be free to do that with any other system. Just as they are free to bring people to what would be their moon and free to conduct business with anyone so long as it follows the laws of this Republic. It is their choice, and I leave it in their hands.”

As Chancellor Organa brought the assembly back to order, we floated back to our dock and I sat uncovered with my head held high. Let them look, let them stare, I was no longer hiding. I was proud to be the Queen of my people.

…

I was so glad when the senate session was finished. The stares and the whispers were getting to me even as my mask of apathy towards them stayed in place. Not to mention the wig was itchy and I really wanted to wash the clown makeup from my face. 

I literally walked into the senator suit loudly bemoaning "Why did I let you put this wig on me? And what is in this makeup? Did you have to paint my face completely white? I can’t wait to scrub it off. And someone better come and help me with this kriffing corset before I cut it off myself!" Breathing was apparently a thing that other people did.

"Your Grace!" One of the handmaidens gasped as she tried to keep the look together. "The delegates from the GAR are here already!" She was trying to warn me. It was completely adorable. 

"Sweety, those men fought in a war, they have heard worse than little old me complaining about this wardrobe and I very much doubt they care about how I look as I offer them a home." I said as I patted her shoulder sympathetically. She looked like she wanted to argue for a moment before she gave a curtsy and left me to settle business.

Looking at Garix I asked with a smile "Do you mind if I commandeer your office for the moment? They know me well enough that it shouldn't be too long. And if Jedi Master Kenobi comes let him in."

"Of course, your majesty." He bowed to me and let me into the office before closing the door to probably do anything else.

Removing my mask, I looked at the gathered clones with a smile. With the wig and mask off, I was already very recognizable to them, and I saw as Rex finally clued in and was gaping at me. "Surprise." I said almost timidly.

"You left the order for us?" Cody asked, almost tripping over his words.

I shook my head "Not only for you. For the people who wanted me to lead them. I have known this was coming for a while, and I knew that with the position my people had put me in, I could help you guys too. But I couldn't be a Jedi to do it." 

There was a pause before Ponds spoke up and asked "This moon, can you tell us more about it?" 

I beamed at him as I handed over a holopad. "It isn't huge, but it should be big enough for your population and with plenty of room to grow. It’s the fifth satellite from the planet and it actually the most fertile one we have in my system. If you are up to it, once you have settled in and become stable, trade opportunities would be open between your moon and my own. Settling in will take a bit of work, but I know it won't be a huge problem with you guys." 

"We could build a Jedi Temple on it for when our Jedi visited?" Bly asked as they all looked over the pad. 

"Of course. You can do anything you want and bring anyone you want. The two terrors can even adopt that adorable little twi'lek and bring her with them if they wanted to. It is literally your moon if you agree to have it." I nodded emphatically. 

The door opened then and Master Obi-Wan walked in. He shut the door and just looked at me for a moment. "Alright, how long has it been since your network evolved into this? I didn't even connect you to the system that joined the Republic." He asked, giving in to the absurdity of this situation. 

I laughed soft at that. "I don't even know. I get a call for a meeting one day and my lovely bounty hunter tells me I've won a System and that I have a senator who is trying to join my system to the republic, and oh, by the way we voted you in as Queen too. It was a very strange night, let me tell you.” I answered honestly. 

"And this will work, the men will be free?" He asked even though I knew he knew that it was true. 

I nodded anyway as I said "It is just like the Pantorans and the Talz. In me acknowledging their sovereignty, all rights afforded to my people are also given to them. They even get a representative in our Senate box if they would like." 

"I think it's safe to say we accept." Fox finally spoke up as he smirked to his brothers. 

Rex snorted "This beats all other offers we've been given so far. I'll take it." 

"Thank you." Cody said with heartfelt emotion rolling off of him. 

I stood, causing all of them to stand as well. "Tomorrow I leave Coruscant and finally see what's been set up for me on the moon my people have claimed. When you are ready to bring the vod'e to your new moon, let me know." I said this as I looked particularly at Cody as he knew my comm codes. 

"We will." They assured me. And just like that we shook hands, bowed where necessary, and left the office. 

My heart sang out in giddiness as I got completely out of the ridiculous garments and got back in my street clothes. Tomorrow would be a long day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that is the chapter. Yes, I spent a lot of time on the outfit that she was wearing. Mostly that was becasue I wanted to convey how completely out of her depths she is in this situation and point out that it is very much like the ornate costumes of the Naboo Queens to reference how serious everything is.  
> And I had so much fun figuring out her speech. Like, I had been creating bits and pieces of it for the longest of times.  
> And a warning, my next chapter is going to be a day late. Sorry, but there is nothing I can do to change that.  
> Thank you all for reading, and please let me know what you thought!


	43. How I Found My Place

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now that she has left the Order and freed the GAR, it is time for Nemira to really get to know her people and to go to the Moon she rules over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! So here is the second to last chapter! I hope you like it!

My first view of Urostus was breath taking. It was literally a gigantic ball of green, a gas giant with moons all around it at different orbits. And as I first looked at it, the ship shifted just far enough where the binary suns were showing in the distance.

I got to admire it for a moment before we started to fly towards Frelmoss. The moon was a yellow orange color, interestingly enough. As we got closer, it was made clear that the color came from the golden fields of tall grass that covered the place. I had read that all of the water on this place was subterranean with a few streams and rivers here and there. Some of the plans for the place was to create a few springs as well where they could. Tourists should like that. 

The shuttle came to a city, not walled, but with tall buildings that had no windows and neon signs over their doors. They were gambling halls. Not that I minded, I was expecting that. But it was organized in an interesting way. It seemed that smaller buildings would surround one of the dens, like small pod villages within the large city. A restaurant in each, a bar, and a small inn. So many inns.

“The rotation of Urostus and its moons make it so that we face the sun for a few rotations and are shielded from it for a few as well. So either we have brilliant sunlight or a green haze overhead. We picked this one because it had the most even of distribution between the sun and not.” Zam explained as she brought me to the speeder that was waiting for us.

“It’s beautiful.” I said honestly as I looked out. I was in my typical Lady Nexu garb with the difference that I didn’t bother to put my hood up and they had insisted that I wear the crown that had been made for me. I had bowed to their whims gracefully.

My eyes were constantly moving, looking out over my surroundings in concealed awe as we went along. Not just looking at how much had been done since this was set up, but also looking at the people. I knew that my network had catered to a lot of different species of beings. I had even quite a few as I was going around. But now I got to see the grand scope of it all.

The people of my Queendom, Fiefdom, Moon, System, whatever you wanted to call it, were so varied. Of course, there were human and human-like people, but a good number of them were non-humans. Every color, size, shape, and disposition. It made me smile, and I got smiles in return as the people saw me. They seemed genuinely happy to see me. And I was just happy to see that they were all looking healthy and bright.

The speeder stopped at a large gated house. As I stepped out the gates were opened by two guards who looked to be a Thrandosian and a Shistavanen. Strange combination, but I smiled to them both and gave a dip of my head as they bowed me through the large doors. It led to a garden like entry way and a house that was styled in a way that reminded me of a castle, but less stone and more steel and colored panels.

But it was tasteful. It didn’t look dark, nor it didn’t look intimidating, but the green, reds, and oranges made it look almost inviting. There was an important person living here, but they were open to if you wanted to speak with them. I liked it. I wondered briefly who built it.

Then we walked in and I was once more surprised. There was a freaking throne room. I expected it, but not quite like this. There was a golden throne and tables lining the walls. It was ridiculous. “Please tell me I don’t have to sit in that monstrosity often.” I said pleadingly as I looked to the woman next to me.

“Only when outsiders bring dignitaries.” She answered without looking at me.

I rolled my eyes so hard. “Awesome. Let’s go hit the city, I want to see how everything is going for the people.” I said as I put my single bag behind the golden throne and marched out of the castle. I would get the full tour later, but for now I wanted to get a better feel for my queendom.

The first thing that I noticed when I walked into the casino were the sabacc tables. Well, it was actually the seats around the sabacc tables. Every single one of them had an open chair. A chair that I learned was reserved for me. Like they expected me to just join whenever. It was an open invitation. I nearly cried from the honor that was being given to me.

They were telling me that I was always welcome.

So, of course, I moved from table to table and from building to building. I interacted with the people. I teased them, they teased me, and some of the awe was taken away from me, but that was the purpose. At one point I even ended up in a dance club and failed spectacularly at dancing. I had the grace for it, but not the fluidity or any true rhythm. 

The two gorgeous Twi’lek women laughed with me before attempting to give me lessons. They failed, but I had fun. I treated everyone as if they were my equals, and I made sure that they were happy. It made me happy too.

I noticed that the people seemed to brighten as I was open around them, as I showed that I cared about them. I guess that I was proving to them that I really did care about them and want them to think about this place as home.

Another thing I noticed was that almost all of the employees had a face covering. The dancers, the guards, the hosts at the tables. It really was a fad that was running through us. While on the job, your face was partially covered. The only time you really bothered someone was when they were free of the covering, showing that they were there for pleasure and not business. I supposed that once I was more comfortable, my own mask would have to come off.

But for now, I had fun and I relaxed as the feeling of home enveloped me.

…

It took me a few days to figure out that my planet was also the last one on the freedom trail. Well, several freedom trails. Some of the smaller buildings within the village pods of the city were schools. I stepped into one a few days in and saw that the classes were not just for little ones. There were adults of all kinds there learning as well.

I sat next to a Mikkian man with soft orange skin when I came in. He was a dancer in the closest gambling den, but he was still learning how to read here. He was learning so that he wouldn’t always need to be a dancer as when he was a slave that was what he was forced to be. But I saw that he could be so much more than what the slavers had thought of him. I saw it as he shared the pad with a little Ryn girl who was only just old enough to learn to read.

“Do you like teaching?” I asked softly. I was trying not to startle him, but it wasn’t easy with how newly he had been freed. I could still see the healing barely there marks that a collar had left.

He flinched for just a moment before he seemed to mentally shake himself and remind himself that he was free. That he need not flinch away from anyone here as we would not hurt him. “Yes. I always liked looking after the other children of the group I was with. They are all so hopeful.” He answered in barely a mumble.

I smiled warmly at him. “I imagine that it helps to have such encouraging adults looking after them. I know that the daycares are always looking for caretakers. Perhaps you might consider them when you are ready.” I said. I made sure that it was not an order by making it sound as if I was speaking to myself. I hint that he could ignore.

A few days later a new ship came to a stop and I was surprised to see Savage stepping off with a group of nervous looking people behind him dressed in near rags. But then a smile lit my face. It looks like the coerced sith apprentice had found a way to help others of his kind. I also noticed that there were quite a few male Dathomir Zabraks. It seemed he went back for his clan and freed them from the fear of the Night Sisters, even if they too were gone.

I said nothing as I gave him a dip of my head, and he said nothing as he returned it with a bow of his own. That was the extent to our interactions. I never really spoke to him, and he never felt the need to speak to me.

A moment later I was walking down the road and I passed a strange man with a lot of cybernetic implants. I wanted to ask, but at the same time I really didn’t. But it was his future that caught my attention. He was an inventor. One who would go nowhere unless he had a platform to start off on. And a crazy idea came to me.

“Excuse me,” I said politely, stopping him and causing him to look at me and tilt his head.

Recognition sparked in his eyes a moment later, and he bowed to me saying “Your Grace, how can I be of service?” It was much too proper like for me, but I let it go. He did not know me yet.

“You are a brilliant mind. But you need a foundation from which to build yourself up. I have technology that I have created that I want to produce for my people and the public. Come to my residence tomorrow at noon, and I will help you get your feet under you. Recognition is needed before your wares can truly be acknowledged by the masses.” I said frankly. His eyes widened and he bowed more exuberantly after I spoke.

I gave him the blueprints of the phones. Not quite as encrypted as mine and the three that I had given out, but still somewhat compatible and able to be used by anyone. I might have also told him about adding perhaps a search engine or translator to it. There was the holonet, and it was like the internet, but I wanted there to be a Google like thing as there was none right now.

So much technology, and the basics of everything was missing to me. The good news was that he was happy to do as I asked. The phones were also a lot smaller than the pads that everyone was so used to using. It was a combination of a lot of technology that everyone had to have. It was also perhaps feeding into my desire to see people using the phone as everyone in Nicole’s world used their own cellphones.

Not that I said anything like that, but it would set him up to pitch his own inventions soon enough. And helping all of these people was my goal now. Because they were mine and I was theirs.

…

Two weeks after I had settled in, I was going to the moon that the clones were being given as hundreds of thousands of men were on their way. It had taken so long because they had been loading the tubies for transport as well as giving everyone, even the kids, the aging fix. Also, the Jedi were coming to help them settle in. Well, some of them were.

I had it on good authority that the Jedi had made some changes to their policies. Mainly the one about attachments. Because as I knew, we had all been attached to the clones. They had wormed their way into our hearts and we were glad to have them there. That also made it so that Anakin could acknowledge his marriage without leaving the order. I knew that Obi-Wan would be happy about that.

We all knew about the relationship. This way my old master didn't have to say goodbye to both of his students. Of course, there were probably still some form of prejudice about it, but it was a step in the right direction.

The first ship to set down was the Negotiator. Though, it looked like they packed as many people into it as they could. Because it was more than just a single battalion that came out. I saw blue and red and even green paint in the crowd of vod’e that came out. I imagine they had to negotiate to keep a few of the flagships for transportation.

The good news was that this moon had an orbit that was at an angle that meant it was given sunlight for a lot more of the rotation than Frelmoss was. Perfect for agriculture, though the ‘winter’ was also slightly harsher. Not much to be a problem though.

“Looking good, your highness.” Ahsoka said somewhat awkwardly as she hopped up to me. I had only brought my bounty hunter, as she seemed to always be with me now, and the man who had been with me in the senate pod. I think he was a body guard for me, but I hadn’t asked. I seemed to do that a lot; just not ask why certain people were there.

“I rolled my eyes and then brought her into a hug. “Please, I’ve been having a vacation here.” I said softly, almost like a scoff.

The Togrutan laughed in relief as she hugged back and then pulled away. I saw that Skywalker was standing there awkwardly and Master Obi-Wan was smiling at me in his soft way. It made me happy to see that there wasn’t much pain there. That he wasn’t disappointed in me or anything.

“The boys are excited to see everything and set up around the moon. I think that the Commander squad are trying to pick out the best place for the capital!” Ahsoka continued to ramble slightly.

But it was nice. Over the course of the next few days I helped them settle in and land. The cadets were so cute as they were running around. At one point I was again with the trio of Jedi as Cody and Obi-Wan were teaching one of the youngsters how to slip out of knots. How that ended up happening, I didn’t know, but it was so cute.

I let out a sigh. “I hardcore still ship those two.” I announced loud enough for everyone to hear me. Ahsoka dissolved into peals of laughter as the other all looked so incredibly confused.

“Pardon me, what?” Obi-Wan asked as he straightened up. Cody seemed to understand that he didn’t want to know as he looked from me to Ahsoka warily.

Thinking for a moment of how to explain, I ended up sarcastically saying “I want to put you both in a ship and send you sailing into the sunset.”

When they continued to not understand, Ahsoka finally took pity on them and said “She means that she thinks you two would make a good couple.”

Obi-Wan sputtered, tripping over words. Cody turned red; it was beautiful. But Anakin, he started to choke on nothing as he heard that. Ahsoka and I both just laughed. It was hard not to. But I managed to get control of myself eventually.

“I don’t even know if I see it as romantic all the time either. If you both were just platonic life partners that would work as well. But I can’t see a future where you both aren’t at each other’s side.” I explained as best I could.

Besides, sometimes that kind of relationship was even deeper. Closer than lovers, closer than siblings. It was like two sides of a coin, but at the same time not like that at all. They just worked so well together.

I moved on after that, it was about time for me to get back to Frelmoss, and I was looking forward to seeing if anything had changed at all in my absence. Though, I offered my doors to always be open if anyone needed to talk. And I invited them to try their luck if they dared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just one more chapter to go!  
> Please let me know what you thought!


	44. How Time Passes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The years are passing, and everything is settling after the large changes have been made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter. Okay. I want to thank everyone who has stayed with me this far. Thank you to everyone who commented as well. there wasn't a single negative or troll like comment, and that really means a lot to me. I have posted on other sites before, but I think this one has been the most welcoming.  
> I know that I did four or five things that would have had this particular story scoffed at by a lot of people. I did an OC as a main character. I wrote in first person. I gave the character memories of a past life. And I gave her powers that were kind of extraordinary.  
> And yet you all still stuck through and gave this story a chance.  
> So here is the last chapter, and I hope that you like it.

I was fifteen when I met the Son and that strange family of force users from Mortis again. I had been in my castle when he came in through the shadows and spooked the entire household. Though I soothed them as best I could by not looking alarmed. The Force didn't tell me that I had to be worried, and so I was actually pretty calm in his presence. Even if I could also admit that I was nervous.

“I like what you have done for yourself. It resonates well.” He said as he walked forward, giving no mind to the other people in the room. Not that I expected him to really notice them.

“Hello, it’s good to see you again. I can offer a tour of my planet, if you are interested.” I said, trying my best to be unconcerned. It was hard though. I usually tried to be fairly blasé around him and the other Ones. But I also knew that if he wanted to, he could be dangerous. It was the fact that he didn’t want to be dangerous towards me that made him safe for now.

He snapped his fingers and something appeared in his hand. “I come baring gifts.” He said simply as he finally got within reach of me, heedless of the blasters being pointed at him. Probably because they were next to useless.

Then he deposited a kitten into my hands. A literal kitten that was so small, and yet it was almost as big as a cat already. Because it was a nexu kitten. And me, I was completely smitten. “I name them Shadow, and they shall be my Shadow.” I said out loud as I cuddled the little monster to my chest.

One of the guards groaned, but I could care less. Instead I looked up at the glowing eyes of the Son and gave him a bright smile. “Thank you, it is truly a grand gift.” I said honestly.

“Good. I best be off. I wouldn’t want Father and Sister to find me. Send my regards to the One, would you, Watcher?” He asked. But he didn’t wait for an answer. He just left. I laughed slightly hysterically. He had seriously asked me to give his regards to Anakin next I saw him.

All three of the beings ended up being faces that one saw on my moon. They would pop up, interact sparingly, and then be on their way. A few years later the Father finally succumbed to old age, but that didn’t stop the Daughter and Son from visiting.

…

The moon given to the clones ended up being called Voe’dore. I didn’t ask, but I did like the ring of it. And though the majority of its residence were clones, they had quite a few others move in as well. Spouses of the clones, children, and sometimes just people looking to start over. Also, it was not rare to see a Jedi there as they really did make a Temple there for the Jedi to visit whenever they wanted.

We had an interesting relation with them. They were like our sister moon, but they went more places than we did. Frelmoss was a tourist trap. People came to us. But the clones were somewhat like hired guns or a mercenary band. They would get contracts and go out into the galaxy to fill them. Though, they also had contracts with us. They sometimes became security in the casinos when needed, and they had a lot of farms on Voe’dore that supplied us with their excess crops.

It was a nice existence. We were at peace with each other and with the Galaxy at large.

Our vendetta against slavery also was helped out by the man power of the vod’e. Literally. They were eager to help where they could on that front. And about half of the flow of freed slaves ended up with them too. It was easy to love such kind people.

I was happy. I was truly happy with how my life had turned out.

…

I was eighteen when I looked into the mirror and gasped. There, staring back at me, was the me from my Force encounter on Ryloth. It was actually my eighteenth birthday, and I was shocked. For a while I could only just look at myself in the mirror as I remembered what had happened to bring me to this moment.

A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts.

“Come in.” I called as I jerked myself away from the mirror and walked a little towards the door. It opened to admit Obi-Wan (he had asked me to call him that a while ago, no Master Jedi nonsense he said) into the room.

He smiled as he saw me. His eyes were soft and there were very little stress lines from the war. But more importantly, his hair was hardly even greying. It was nice to see that he was still going strong. “How does it feel to be eighteen?” He asked in his own light hearted way.

“Good, I think. You know, I saw this coming on Ryloth, but some days I have to remind myself that this is all real.” I answered genuinely. Stars, I really did look at him like a father figure, and now that I was away from the Order and they were being laxer about that kind of thing I could admit it freely.

He laughed lightly. “You have done so much good here. You run the cleanest gambling hub I have ever seen. I have seen your work on freeing the slaves from the galaxy. And you are always true to yourself and your people. I don’t think that I have said it before; but Nemira, I am so proud of what you have done, of who you have become.” He said as he came forward and wrapped me in a hug.

That hit me right in the feels. Literally. My eyes teared up and I was crying. “Obi-Wan, you weren’t supposed to make me cry today!” I whined theatrically. Then I said “Thank you.” Because I was touched.

He pulled away, soft look on his face, and said “Come on, the people are waiting for you, and Cody will have my shebs if we don’t get down there soon.”

That startled a laugh out of me as I wiped the tears from my face and smoothed down my clothes. The crown on my head was something that I had gotten used to over the years. Also, Obi-Wan and Cody were still always around each other, but they still haven’t given a clue as to if they were together or not. It was driving quite a few people crazy and the bets on the subject were getting into ridiculously high levels.

Clicking my tongue twice, Shadow came to stand at my side, purring and chuffing as he did so. I loved that cat. He was the reason there were so few pests around me. Both of the animal design and otherwise.

Head held high, I marched into the place where my family was waiting for me.

…

When my journey started, I had not seen it coming to this. I had thought that I would have been a Jedi Knight. That I would be going over the galaxy helping others as they asked for it. I had thought that perhaps I would be one of the many casualties of the wars.

I never thought that I could have saved the universe. That I could change the galaxy so much that I could barely recognize it anymore. I didn’t know that I would take the great looming darkness and shine a light onto it to make it disappear.

But more than that. I don’t think that I ever thought I would end up so happy.

My family was so big now that it encompassed over two moons and had people in every corner of the galaxy. My will to accept anyone who wanted to be accepted made me who I was, and it made me love them all for who they were.

I was happy. And though I knew that I still had a long life ahead of me. I was glad with where I was now. Never had I aspired to be a Queen so beloved by her people. But that was who I was now.

I was Queen Nexu, mother of my people since I was 8 years old, and freer of slaves by just existing.

I once said that anyone could destroy the universe. From the smallest orphan farmer boy to the richest king.

Now, I say that anyone could save it.

Those are words that I believe. And I will always believe in them. Because I was no one, and I saved the Galaxy. Mostly through chance, but I will take the credit for it anyway.

More adventures were hanging on the horizon. But I would be ready for them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there it is.  
> Yes, I just wanted an excuse to give her a nexu. In my first musings of this fic she would have gotten one in the middle of the story from a random follower. But I figured the Jedi would have never let her keep it.  
> I do admit that there is a small idea of a sequel, but I'm not sure if I want to write it or stop here. I really like how this ended and there isn't much that I would change. But it is implied that her story is still going. She is only 18 after all.  
> Please let me know your thoughts as always, and once again, thank you all for reading this story.  
> And as a side note, I have no idea why I was so freaking emotional, but I literally was almost crying when I finished this story for the first time. Before I went back to edit it. This is the first complete fic I've been able to post. And that kind of means a lot to me as for some reason I am actually stupidly proud of what I made here.


End file.
